Angels and Demons
by whiteraven95
Summary: #Chp 15: Kagura smiled even though he yelled at her. So Rin worried so much for me… "Sorry, Rin." "SORRY!" Rin's bad temper got the hold of him. He grabbed Kagura and shook her violently. "Sorry won't do! I was so freaking scared that I would lose you! I can't stop thinking of whether if you're fine or hurt or… dead! I can't get you out of my mind because I like you!"
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Mommy? Daddy?" A little girl found herself standing by the gates of a church. She had wavy black hair with a crimson red tinge and jade green eyes. As soon as she realized the horror of her parents' absence, tears flowed from her eyes. She cried as loud as she could, as if crying will bring her parents back to her.

A middle-aged man of somewhat grayish brown hair walked out of the church at the same time. He walked towards the little girl and kneeled beside her. His glasses glinted under the sun and he was clad in black. "Hey there, kid. What's the matter?"

The girl rubbed her eyes and looked at the man. "Mommy and daddy… are… gone… " And she cried even louder.

"Well, don't worry, kiddo. We'll find your parents. They're probably gone for grocery shopping. They'll be back."

The cries only worsened. The man fidgeted and thought of plans to calm her down. "D-don't cry… they'll be back, I'm sure of it. You can trust me."

"But… scary creatures attacked them… they all fought but… they were not strong enough…. Then they spread their wings and flew off… they took me with them…. And put me here... they said they're coming back… they said this is the safest place for me… they said no one can harm me here…" she sniffed and cried. "I WANT MY MOMMY AND DADDY!"

The man rubbed his temples. He contemplated of ideas to cheer this girl up but a thought struck him. He slowly digested what the girl had spoken and shock etched over his face.

"You're… you're a…"

The girl looked at him with reddened eyes. Suddenly light filled the place, even much brighter than the sun. He covered his eyes and reopened them, stunned and in utter surprise of what was standing before him now.

The girl now grew a pair of white feathery wings on her back which was ethereal-looking. Her eyes now glowed in white, along with her body. On her arm etched an insignia of a halved feather wing in white. Slowly the glow ebbed and her wings disappeared in the form of dust, blown away by a breeze. She collapsed to the ground, her eyes closed shut but still breathing.

The man finally realized the girl was no ordinary girl.

***I am currently thinking of letting my OC to own a familiar. My temporary idea is a flying cat (or cats) that talks (I am inspired by Happy and Charle from FT)... (although I am prompted to add the real_ them _into the story). They play a main role for the OC.**

**So if you got any ideas better than this, please PM me or review me. **

**THANKS FOR READING!**

**_~whiteraven95_**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

8 years later.

"RIN!"

"You went into a fight again, didn't you?" Fujimoto Shiro, a middle-aged man with grayish hair yelled at a navy blue-haired teenager. "Why the hell are you acting like this again?!"

Okumura Rin sat on the ground, feeling somewhat remorse. The middle-aged man stood with his back facing the young man, arms over his chest angrily.

Shiro sighed. "Your boss called. He says a person like you who delivers without returning is fired."

"Good!" The teenager shouted. "I couldn't handle this job anyway. A person like me needs to take up a serious job… it's more like a joke."

"Stop acting like a kid!" Shiro retorted. "You will grow up and leave this place soon to have your own life! I have the job to make sure whether you got the ability to do so. Or… do you wish to become a priest and inherit this chapel?"

"Who would want to inherit this chapel?"

"Father, I am done with the preparations. The only thing left is to move the luggage."

Shiro turned around as another teenager with brown hair and blue eyes approached him. He wore a pair of fine spectacles and had moles on his face.

"It must have been tough work," Shiro replied.

The brown haired boy spun his head at Rin's direction. "Welcome home, nii-san. Did you get into a fight again?"

"Shut up," Rin retorted, refusing to stare at his brother.

"I can't believe this." From a corner, a voice spoke. "Both of you are twins, but the difference between you and Yukio are as far apart as the sky and earth."

"What?!" Feeling his cheeks reddening, Rin glared at the person who said that. He was a man with spiky sandy brown hair and was wiping the window of the chapel.

"Shut the hell up, Izumi!" Rin yelled, trying as hard as he could to stop his flushing.

Another voice chimed in. "The younger brother is a prodigy with good academics and also great in sports." The voice belonged to another man with black hair. "And in this upcoming spring, he is entering True Cross Academy as a high school student."

"As for the older brother," Izumi added. "He does nothing but causing trouble."

Rin wanted to dig a hole and hide his head in it forever like what ostriches do.

"Hey Rin, maybe you should cook a soup out of Yukio's fingernails and drink it. Probably you will get as good as Yukio is."

Pissed off, the teenager roared. "I said, shut the hell up!"

Simultaneously, the old heater located at the center of the chapel exploded in blue flames momentarily and broken down. Shiro immediately rushed to the heater, fidgeting. "This heater is definitely too old. I need to replace it quick."

"Fujimoto-san," a man with dark brown hair approached Shiro with great respect. "You have a guest."

"Okay then," Shiro replied. "Clean up the chapel before the religious service."

"Yes!" the two men who were cleaning the windows replied in unison.

"And Yukio, clean up Rin's wounds." Shiro added and he left to see his guest.

"Okay, father." Obliged to his father's order, Yukio led his injured brother into the kitchen. He took out a First-Aid Kit as Rin sat on the table. Yukio began by cleaning the grazes on Rin's hand.

"It hurts!" Rin whined.

"It will take a minute. Just endure the pain," Yukio pleaded.

Trying to divert the pain, Rin scanned around the place and found boxes by the corner. On them was written Yukio's name. It finally occurred to the boy his younger brother was moving out tomorrow to a new school and new surroundings.

"I almost forgot. You're moving into the dorm tomorrow," Rin said.

"School starts at next week. Tomorrow I'm saying goodbye to this home that I had stayed for 15 years," Yukio replied while focusing on bandaging his brother's wounds.

Rin let out a tiny smile. "And today will be the last time you tend to my wounds."

"If I become a doctor, I can heal any of your wounds. But I would ask you for some consultation fees."

After hearing the word 'fees', Rin decided to pretend that he had 'not' heard of that word from Yukio. "Your dream is to become a doctor, right?" He said while staring at awe at Yukio's work on his hand. "Keep up the good work! You will totally succeed!"

"Are you pretending to have not heard the word 'fees'?" Yukio sighed and kept the First-Aid kit away. "Nii-san, will you be alright while I'm gone?"

"W-what? Are you trying to give me a sermon?"

"I'm getting worried. No… not only me, father and everyone else are worried of you too. You only know how to fight. Every time when you get a job, it doesn't last long."

"I'm worried of myself too. I wanted to get serious too, but…"

Rin recalled the memories of how he got the wounds he had now. He was passing by a park when he saw the 3 boys loitering in the park. One of them carried a small crossbow that was armed with an arrow and aimed at pigeons that were feeding nearby. At the moment, Rin knew what the boys were up to. They were going to kill pigeons! He just couldn't take it when anyone tries to take the lives of others, even if they were animals. With anger, Rin rushed up to the boy with the crossbow and launched a punch at him.

And that was how Okumura Rin ended up in a fight. Again. Rin sighed at his impulsiveness.

"You must be under a test, nii-san," Yukio said.

"By who?"

"Kami-sama**(1)**." Yukio smiled at his brother.

"You sound like that old man."

Yukio rose from his seat. "Well, I should get going. I wish you good luck, nii-san."

"Eh?" Rin raised an eyebrow. "G-good luck?"

Yukio pointed to a clock that hung on the wall. The clock's hands were pointing at 11. "It's 11 in the morning. _She_ should be back by now. And when_ she_ finds out what happened to you again, nii-san…" Yukio adjusted his glasses. "I am not sure whether if I got anymore bandages to bandage your soon-to-be wounds."

It was as if lightning struck the boy with 10000 megavolts. Rin's face paled and became as white as ashes. He began to sweat heavily and his body seemed to tremble under the slightest breeze. He gaped while his palms slapped his cheeks. And panicking he ran around the place, yelling in fear.

"NOOO! She's back! I'm dead! I'm dead! No… I'm worst than dead!" Rin immediately grabbed his brother's shoulders and shook him violently. "It's… it's going to be a massacre! Save me, Yukio! Hide me! Anything! Just make sure she doesn't find out!"

Yukio sighed. "I'm sorry, nii-san. I'm not supposed to interfere under father's orders. Father said that if you get into a fight again, she shall execute the punishment and I mustn't save you from it."

"Can't you just lie a little? Just don't tell her and your brother, me will live for another day!"

"Don't tell who what?" a girl's voice chimed in the kitchen.

Rin's body was completely paralyzed.

"Welcome home, Kagura** (2)**," Yukio greeted.

"Hi, Yukio," said a girl that had entered the kitchen. She had wavy black hair tinged with red that she gathered to her right shoulder and tied it up. Her eyes were as green as jade. She was clad in a grey shirt written the word 'LOVE' and a white overcoat along with a pair of short pants and a pair of knee-length boots. A leather pouch hung on her waist. In her arms she held a few books she borrowed from the library. "Soo… what are you guys up to?"

"Nii-san—" Yukio's mouth was abruptly clamped by Rin's hand, prohibiting him from saying any further.

"We're… we're having a good brother-and-brother talk before Yukio departs tomorrow!" Rin lied, while perspiration dripped from his face. Yukio struggled under the pressure of Rin's hand on his mouth. "It's just a talk, Kagura, nothing unusual!"

Kagura raised an eyebrow and stared at Rin incredulously. "_Really_?"

Rin nodded. He grabbed Yukio's neck with his other hand and made him nod too.

"Oh, alright." Kagura took out a bottle of juice from her pouch and threw it at Rin, which he caught with his free hands after releasing Yukio. "This is for you, Rin. Your favourite."

Rin's eyes glittered when he read the label off the bottle. "Juice!" Without hesitation, Rin opened the bottle and poured the whole bottle of juice down his throat. Just as he thought a fruity sweet taste will lighten up his taste buds, a weird taste that should never exist in fruit juices filled his entire mouth cavity. It now felt like his whole mouth was about to explode. His face reddened like a tomato.

The juice was nothing but spicy.

"HOT!" Rin yelled as he swore flames came out of his mouth since the juice was burning like hell in his mouth. "HOLY CRAP! IT'S SPICY AND HOT!" Rin ran around the room as if a dog was hot on his trail. "HOT, HOT, HOT!"

Yukio stared and only sighed at his brother's antics while Kagura sneered.

Rin stopped before Kagura and pointed an accusing finger at her. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU PUT IN THIS?!"

"Oh nothing really. Just some wasabi, Tabasco sauce and lots and lots of chili. That's all," Kagura replied.

"WHY?!" Rin roared.

"Six words. You. Got. Into. A. Fight. Again."

"THAT'S SEVEN!"

"Actually, that's six," Yukio chimed in.

"SHUT UP, MOLEY FOUR-EYES!"

"This is the punishment you get when you get into trouble," Kagura said. "Since you didn't want things to go physical, I might as well resolve into something that benefits both me and you. I get to keep good pedicure since I don't have to hit you."

"HOW DOES THIS BENEFIT ME?!"

"You get to train your tongue under extreme conditions like spiciness."

"YOU BITC—"

"Nii-san!" Yukio rebuked.

"I… I AM GOING TO GET A DRINK!" And Rin rushed out of the kitchen to somewhere where he could cool down his tongue and the girl will be out his range of sight.

Yukio sighed. "At least I don't have to worry about bandages."

Kagura laughed. "I'm just doing what father asks. I didn't like torturing Rin at all."

Yukio raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay maybe a little," Kagura added sheepishly.

Soon, Rin came back from his drink. His body was soaking wet as water dripped off his clothes. And angrily, the boy glared daggers at Kagura, thinking of multiple reasons why shouldn't he kill her right now.

"Nii-san, did you… just bathed?" Yukio asked and a sigh followed.

"S-shut up," Rin replied, eyes still glaring at Kagura.

"He probably had," Kagura added. She tried hard to refrain from laughing as she saw how wet the boy was

"The bathroom was the only place I can find plentiful water to cool myself down!" Rin roared.

"Meanwhile you decided to take a bath too."

"SHUT UP! KAGURA, I SWEAR I'M GONNA' GET BACK AT YOU!"

"Bring it on."

Yukio sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Ooi! You're here!" Izumi and a short, plump man named Maruta walked into the kitchen. On Maruta's hands was a poster and he showed it to the three.

"South Cross Grocery Shop is hiring people, Rin," said Maruta. "Maybe you should go and check it out."

"A job?" Rin asked.

"I've contacted them for you. The owner says you can go for the interview right now," Izumi added.

"Hold it! How can you guys make a decision like that without my consent?"

A box was suddenly flung into Rin's arms. "Here, take my suit. Can't let you going to an interview without proper attire," said

Yukio smiled at how much the guys were helping his older brother. He felt relieved. At least during his absence, there will always be people looking after his older brother for him. "Good luck, nii-san."

Reluctantly, under the gang's persuasion Rin went and changed into the suit. At least he didn't have to worry about looking for a new job. That checked out. Now the only problem was…

"CRAP! HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO TIE THIS STUPID TIE?!" Rin yelled, while struggled with the tie that formed multiple loops around his head. Giving up, he decided not to wear a tie and threw it on to the floor, although it will deduct quite some marks from his first impression on his new boss. He was about to step out of the chapel when a voice halted him.

"Hold it, Okumura Rin!"

Rin spun his head around and found Kagura staring at him, her hands on her hips.

"What?"

Kagura sighed and picked up the black tie. "Don't you know how to tie one?"

"It nearly killed me."

Kagura smiled. She stepped forward and looped the tie over his neck. Realizing a girl—even though it was Kagura—so close to him, a red blush crept onto Rin's cheeks. She was so close he could smell the lavender-scented shampoo she often used. Rin wanted to step back as they were invading each other's personal space, but seeing how focused the girl was tying his tie for him, he didn't dare to interfere.

After a few knots, the job was done. "Done! See how smart you look now? Bosses like smart-looking workers," said Kagura, completely oblivious to the blush on Rin's face.

"Y-yeah…" awkwardly, the boy rubbed the back of his head. "T-thanks, Kagura."

"No problem! If you get the job, you have to buy me lunch!" Her beautiful smile dazed Rin, making him blush deeper.

"Okay! G-gotta go!" immediately, the boy ran away, trying to calm his emotions while Kagura stayed fazed by his weird behaviour.

**(1)kami-sama: means god in Japanese.**

**(2)Kagura: in Japanese, it means 'sacred song' or 'god entertainment'.**

***I am currently thinking of letting my OC to own a familiar. My temporary idea is a flying cat (or cats) that talks (I am inspired by Happy and Charle from FT)... (although I am prompted to add the real_ them _into the story). They play a main role for the OC.**

**So if you got any ideas better than this, please PM me or review me.**

**THANKS FOR READING!**

**_~whiteraven95_**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Kagura**

She found herself in a weird place where she couldn't recognize.

It was dark and quiet. There was nothing else there but herself.

Kagura meticulously and tentatively walked without knowing where she was going. Occasionally she spun her head around, hoping that someone familiar would be standing behind her. But it didn't happen.

She continued to walk as a shrill crept up to her spine. Then she heard voices coming from the front. Glistened with hope, the girl sprinted forward, following the voices. A white light soon welcomed her presence, and a new picture appeared before her. She couldn't make well who the figures were but she could hear them well.

Both of them had their backs facing her. One of them had flowing golden hair, the other had spiky black hair. It had occurred to Kagura that they were arguing about something, and the golden-haired one was forcing something out of the black-haired one.

"Tell me," said the one with golden hair. "Why should I believe what you say?"

"W-what I told you is the truth. I don't know where the thing you are asking of is." The black-haired somewhat trembled under the other's presence.

"Really, you're telling me this? You know what I want, and you know where it is. Best you tell me or I'll burn you right now."

"I really don't—"

"You were there, Halphas** (1)**. You were there when the raid happened. You helped those… traitors escape. You must know where it is. NOW TELL ME!"

Halphas laughed, his face was gruesome. "You're smart. But I'll never tell you. Not in a millennia I will tell you where it is. Over my dead body!"

"So you choose death like what your brothers did. What a stupid decision," the blond's palm glowed in white, something beautiful yet deadly. "One touch of this, and you're dead. Maybe you should reconsider."

"I have made my decision. I will keep the pact intact, just like what my brothers did. King Baal **(2) **will hear from this. You will die a miserable death, Slayer."

"We'll see. King Baal is no match for me." The light on the blond's palm brightened, overwhelming Halphas. "Through this light I send this filthy demon straight to the depths of Tartarus** (3)**!"

The light was so bright it blinded Kagura and she had to cover her eyes with her hands. The last thing she heard was:

"King Baal will avenge our deaths. Satan will make sure you will never end up in Elysium** (4)**. This is the curse I implant on you, Demon Slayer! The pact shall be intact forever and you will never find what you are looking for! May God never bless you! May Death drag you along with me!"

With that, Kagura woke up in her bed, cold sweat drenched her shirt. The only question in her head was: what the hell was that dream about?

* * *

**Rin**

The boy stared at the girl who hadn't touched her breakfast since 10 minutes ago.

"Ooi! Kagura! Kagura! KAGURA!"

Kagura's head spun slowly at Rin's direction. "What is it?"

"You haven't touched your breakfast." Rin pointed at the bowl of cereal untouched by the girl. He noticed that she wasn't herself today. She didn't yell at him, or play pranks at him or even nag him like she's his mother. _Something must be bugging her._ "Are you alright? You look—"

"I… I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't cha' worry of me. Finish your cereal."

"I've done that ages ago. It's you who hasn't finish the cereal."

Kagura stared at her bowl. As if she finally realized she hadn't touch her breakfast, she mouthed, "Oh."

"Are you sick or something?" Rin asked, staring hard at her face. It was as pale as ashes. _Although she still looked nice. Wait… what? _

"I'll be fine." Kagura rose from her seat. "I'll eat this later. I gotta' help father with chores."

"It's alright, kiddo!" Shiro popped his head into the kitchen. "Rin can help me with them. You go have some fun in the library."

"WHAT?!" Rin yelled.

"Be a gentleman, Rin. You start by cleaning the windows."

"I didn't agree to this!"

"You're grounded, remember?"

Of course the boy remember. It was last night when he got hired _and _fired at the same day. And he got grounded due to the damages his caused at the supermarket he worked. Long story short.

Rin sighed. "Fine. I've got nothing to do anyway."

"Oh yeah, Kagura," Shiro said before dragging his son with him. "Watch out when you go out to the library. The news kept saying about some serial killer murdering people. It's the 3rd this week. Just watch out, okay, kiddo?"

Kagura nodded languidly and left the kitchen.

"Hey, old man," said Rin after the two were left alone. "Don't you think Kagura's acting strange?"

"Really? Didn't notice."

"OLD MAN!"

Shiro stared at the boy incredulously. "Since when you start to care about Kagura that much? I thought you hated her."

"No I don't. She's… like a sister to me. She's kinda' my best friend or something like that, although she won't stop playing pranks on me."

"Or maybe you're just going through puberty."

Rin blushed. "W-what?"

"Oh nothing. I'm just saying. Since you think something's wrong with Kagura, I'll look in to it. Right now, Rin, clean the windows." And Shiro left.

Rin cursed under his breath. He took a pail from the bathroom and filled it half-full with water and grabbed a cloth. Easily, he lifted the heavy pail like it was nothing and headed to the nearest window. While cleaning he contemplated of a myriad of things. Finally he did realize Yukio was not here anymore. He had gone to the True Cross Academy after daylight broke. Rin will miss his younger brother a lot, definitely.

And there's the Kagura issue. What was going on with her? She acted like a different person. _Maybe old man will find out what's going on with her. Yeah. _

He sighed. Memories of last night flooded him. He was jobless, again. What the hell did happen? First, he chased a weird monkey creature that snatched a little girl's scarf and the next thing he knew, he was fired. Was he delusional about the monkey creature?

No, he's not. He was sure about this. That monkey creature was real. He admitted he didn't study much, but he knew that creature was unlike any animal he watched on the National Geography channel. But what was it?

Last night, he was sulking at the park on the swing where he and Yukio used to play. He didn't go home because he was ashamed, although the gang made his favourite sukiyaki **(5). **And then she came.

* * *

"_Knew you would be here." _

"_Kagura?" Rin looked up from his spot. Kagura stared at him, her face was gentle and calm like the moon's rays. She was completely different from before in the morning._

"_What cha' doin' here? You're late for your sukiyaki. Let's go," said Kagura._

"_I can't."_

"_Why? Are you mad because I played you earlier today?"_

"_No. I… I got fired because the boss said I'm a rude person and knows nothing about discipline."_

"_Did something happen? You can tell me."_

_Remembering the monkey creature incident and was totally sure she would not understand, he snapped. "I can't! Even if I did, you wouldn't understand! Neither of you would!" _

_Kagura didn't flinch. "Rin… if you wouldn't tell me, how should you know whether I understand or not? You're not a diviner. You can't divine. Let's go home, Rin. Everyone's worried."_

_Rin refused to go. But suddenly the girl grabbed his hand and dragged him along with her. She was so strong and persistent he gave in and let her drag him back home. _

"_You're stubborn," Rin remarked._

"_Says the original stubborn guy. Wait till we get home, you'll gonna' gulp down my another specialty—umeboshi**(6),** lime, and lemon 'Sour Juice'."_

"_What? No way! You can't force that in me!"_

"_We'll see." _

_Even without seeing her face, Rin could imagine her grinning evilly like a devil, ready to torment him. He wanted to escape but the girls' grip on his hand was so tight it could break his bones. If he tries to escape, God knows what will happen to him. She'll kill him for sure._

_Maybe letting his taste buds suffer a little was better than permanent death._

* * *

Rin smiled at how stubborn the girl was. _And she seemed cute when she was so determined and stubborn._

_AGAIN?! WHAT?!_

Rin shook his head, trying to clear his mind of these… thoughts. What the hell was going on with him lately?

As he continued cleaning the window, he looked outside and found something unbelievable. He gaped. Tiny black creatures floated in the air in numbers. They were things that he hadn't seen before and he rushed out to the courtyard. A lot of these creatures filled the air, like an invasion of alien bugs. _Were those even bugs?_ As he looked around, people continued to buzz around as if those creatures didn't exist. _Didn't anyone see them?_

What was going on? Was he hallucinating?

"Okumura-kun!"

Rin spun his head. The boy whom he previously beaten up stood outside of the courtyard, covered in multiple bandages. His henchmen, 3 of them stood beside him.

"Could you come here for a sec?" the boy asked. Rin noticed the black bug-like creatures covered him like bee attracted to honey. He nearly stepped out of the gate when he recalled Shiro's orders.

_You're grounded! _

Rin stood still, obeying the old man's orders.

"What are you afraid of, Okumura-san?" the boy prompted. "Come on!"

"Do you want to hide behind your mama?" another boy snickered.

Intrigued by what they want from him, Rin stepped out of the courtyard and followed them.

* * *

**Kagura**

"Hey, kiddo!"

Kagura turned around and saw Shiro standing at the door of her room, his arms crossed before his chest. "Father?"

"Thought you're going to the library. Anything wrong, kiddo?"

Kagura hesitated on whether she should tell Shiro about her disturbing nightmare. "I-it's nothing."

Shiro raised an eyebrow at his daughter. Although they weren't related by blood, he was proud to call the girl his daughter. "Really? Even the most oblivious idiot named Okumura Rin can sense your troubles."

Kagura sighed. If Rin could tell she was troubled, how could her father not? "It's… about a nightmare," she blurted. "But it seemed so real… it was as if it _is _real."

Shiro's eyes widened in surprise. "What is it about?"

Kagura thoroughly explained of the people in her nightmare. "One of them was Halphas and the other, I don't know. But the Halphas guy mentioned of someone called King Baal."

Shiro's eyebrows knitted together in a frown. "This is bad."

"Bad? How?"

Suddenly, Shiro grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Kagura, whatever happens next, if I'm not around, go to True Cross Academy and look for my good friend, Mephisto Pheles."

"Eh?"

"If Mephisto refuses to protect you, look for a girl named Aoife Barachiel **(7)**. She will surely protect you."

"I know who Mephisto is, but who is this Aoi—whatever her name is."

"She is an Exorcist, like me. But she is a little bit different."

Kagura was surprised. Why would Shiro tell her all this? Was something bad going to happen?

"But, father, you told me not to have any connection with exorcists except you and Yu—"

"Kagura, things change now. Even though you know of the world of exorcists and demons and you're a trained exorcist under me, things aren't always as it seems. Remember that."

The girl rubbed her temples. Her head definitely hurts. Yes, she was an exorcist, trained since young to exorcise demons that existed in this world. Shiro was her guide and trainer and he trained her to become an Aria, ever since he discovered she had gifted powers of unbelievable strength. Although she was trained to become an Aria, she had a feeling that she was more than that.

"Kagura, whatever happens, I believe that you are a good person with a kind heart and not destined for evil. And you must believe in yourself too. You are a good guy, okay?"

"Umm… okay…"

"Remember: things aren't always it seems."

Kagura nodded and Shiro hugged her, so tight she can hardly breathe. But she liked her father's warmth. It was nice. It helped her to forget anything hurtful and troubling. She loved being hugged by her father.

"You are my sweetest daughter. Stay safe, and stay alive. Promise me, your father, okay?"

"Yes… father…"

Shiro released her. "Good. Now… I have Rin to trouble of."

"Rin?"

"He's gonna' be awakened. I have to look for him."

The girl sighed. She knew all along Rin was not a human, but a human-demon hybrid.

He was Satan's son.

"Get ready. Things are about to get messy. Go inform the others."

Kagura nodded and left the room. Her mind was thinking of what her father told her previously. Why did he tell her that? Did he know something was going to happen?

She had a bad omen of the future that awaits her.

* * *

**(1) Halphas: Earl of Hell, commanding 26 legions of demons. Also a prince of hell.**

**(2) King Baal : According to le Grand Grimoire, Bael is the head of the infernal powers. He is also the first demon listed in Wierus' Pseudomonarchia daemonum. According to Wierus, Bael is first king of Hell with estates in the east and commands 66 legions.**

**(3) Tartarus: It is a deep, gloomy place, a pit, or an abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides beneath the underworld.**

**(4) Elysium: is a conception of the afterlife that evolved over time and was maintained by certain Greek religious and philosophical sects, and cults. Initially separate from the realm of Hades, admission was initially reserved for mortals related to the gods and other heroes. Later, it expanded to include those chosen by the gods, the righteous, and the heroic, where they would remain after death, to live a blessed and happy life, and indulging in whatever employment they had enjoyed in life.**

**(5) sukiyaki: is a Japanese dish in the nabemono (Japanese hot pot) consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. Before being eaten, the ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs.**

**(6) umeboshi: are pickled ume fruits common in Japan. The word "umeboshi" is often translated into English as "Japanese salt plums," "salt plums" or "pickled plums." **

**(7) Aoife: is an Irish feminine given name. The name is probably derived from the Irish aoibh, meaning "pleasure" or "radiant", although the name has also be associated with the Gaulish goddess Esuvia. **

** Barachiel: _Kindness of God_ or _Ray of God_**

**_Review please! _**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Kagura**

The girl watched as Shiro and Rin ran into the chapel from outside.

"How's the job?" Shiro asked Nagatomo who was waiting for them outside.

"Most of the demons were exorcised. The chapel has been covered in 3 layers of wards," replied Nagatomo.

The three walked into the chapel, with Rin looking dazed as usual. "Extend more of the wards. It will not hold till morning. Where's Kagura?"

Kagura stood inside of the chapel, waiting for their arrival. "I'm here."

"Thank God."

"Who are those demons?" Kagura asked.

"Astaroth's kin. Nagatomo, pour three times concentrated holy water down the drain. Don't let anything enter this place."

"Yes, Fujimoto-san." Maruta and Izumi both carried huge buckets of holy water and went to their destination.

"Astaroth? That's trouble," Kagura said. She turned to look at Rin, who was unclear of what was happening. "Rin, are you okay?"

"I…" Rin muttered. Then with shock he stared at her. "You knew, Kagura? You knew who really I am?"

"Rin, I'm sorry. But-"

"Hurry up, Rin. You too, Kagura." Shiro went into a hidden room, gesturing at the two to follow. The two entered the room which there was nothing but an old chest. Shiro entered a key into the key hole of the chest and opened it. Inside was a Japanese sword with a dark blue sheath.

"Koumaken," Kagura muttered.

"It is also called Kurikara," said Shiro as he took the sword out. "It is a sword in legends that has been passed down in generations. Your powers have been transferred to this sword and its sheath used to seal your powers."

"M-my powers?" Rin asked. Kagura could see that the boy was trying hard to digest the reality that was happening around him.

Shiro handed the sword to him. "This is a sword that is more important than your life. Do not give anyone else. Even while you're asleep you mustn't let this sword leave your sight. Kagura will make sure you will not do any mistake."

_He sounded like he was dying…_ Fear immediately crept into the girl's heart. _Has he prepared to die for protecting Rin? _She looked at her father, who had pure determination in his eyes. She had never seen him like that before.

"But remember: NEVER LET ANYONE TAKE THIS SWORD," emphasized Shiro. "If the sword is unsheathed, your demon powers will be awakened. And you will never become human again."

"Wait a sec," said Rin. "If I'm a demon, then Yukio—"

"You and Yukio are fraternal twins," Kagura explained in Shiro's stead. "Yukio was born weaker so he didn't inherit the power."

"The one who inherited the power is you, Rin," Shiro added.

Rin's face was etched with more shock. He diverted his eyes from Shiro to Kagura and questions began to pop in his head again. "What about Kagura? How does she know?"

Noises came from the outside of the ward as monsters struggled to enter the place.

"Rin, that's not important. You must—" said Kagura, trying to soothe the boy.

"How come you knew and hid this from me? I thought that you're my best friend!" Rin yelled but Kagura didn't flinch. She knew she was guilty and she was willing to let him bombard her with anger.

"What about the others? Did they know? Did Yukio know?

"It's for your own good," Shiro explained.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why?"

"As long as you're still human I'll continue to raise you. This is to let you live, considering you have Satan's blood in you. This is the only agreement."

"Agreement?"

"I wanted to raise you like a human, so that is no need to let the cat out of the bag. The secret between both of your births, I didn't tell anyo-"

It was like a pandemonium outside. A loud explosion filled the air as the ground trembled. Shiro ran out of the room, followed by Rin and Kagura. Three of them didn't like what they saw.

A huge truck had found its way into the chapel by crashing into the front entrance. Dead dogs that stunk marched towards them like zombies. The boy that Rin previously fought sauntered into the place, with horns grew on his head and a tail swaying behind him. Kagura knew the guy was possessed by Astaroth.

"Young Master, I have found you," Astaroth said. "Let's go home to Gehenna." Then he stretched his arm long enough to grab Rin's leg.

Seeing the situation, Kagura began her attack. "O God of Light, shine on this fiend!" her body enveloped in a white glow. A streak of light formed from the glow of her body rushed towards Astaroth and struck him. The fiend released his grip on Rin and struggled on the ground, burn marks over him caused by the light attack.

Rin gaped. "What the hell was that?"

"No time to explain!" Shiro grabbed Rin by his collar and thrown him into the secret room. "Kagura, go with him!"

"I am not leaving you to fight Astaroth alone!"

"I said go!" Shiro grabbed her shoulders, attempting to throw her into the room but she violently shook his hands off. She lunged forward at Astaroth with a white glow over her palms. Seeing the girl was about to attack him, Astaroth's body immediately grew larger in great proportions. His arms flailed backwards, ready to smash the girl when she approaches. As she neared him, she slipped her feet and glided beneath Astaroth's legs, missing his attack by a few inches. She got up to her feet quickly and with her glowing palms, she punched the demon's back with such tremendous force the demon nearly toppled over.

Rin and Shiro could only watch her doing her work, with Rin amazed and the latter worrying his head off.

Astaroth spun his body around to face Kagura, only to find her body enveloped in the same white glow, preparing for an attack. Immediately Astaroth stretched his hand to grab her but it was too late.

"O God of Lightning, strike down this fiend!" As the words were spoken, lightning burst through the ceiling and struck the demon with 10000 megavolts, shocking his every fiber and muscles. With that, Astaroth, now in crisps, fell on to the ground. His eyes glued on her, with infinite shock and disbelief.

"You… You're an an—"

Great pressure that pressed his chest stopped his sentence. Shiro's foot stood steadily over Astaroth's chest despite his struggle. A rifle was aimed at the demon's head. "She is an Aria, and my daughter, nothing more than that. Shut your filthy mouth and be sent into the depths of Leviathan, unable to see, hear, smell or speak. Be covered by darkness itself and never to return!"

A piercing howl was heard and something like a black soul came out from Astaroth's mouth as he slowly turned back to human. Shiro took back his foot. "Nagatomo, drive the car here. Izumi, Kyodo, purify this boy and make sure no demons possess him again."

"Yes, Fujimoto-san."

On the other hand, Kagura patted dust off her clothes, ignoring the fact that her arm bled from the glide she just took. Shiro glared at her. "That was a stupid move. You could get yourself killed!"

"Well, it saved our lives, didn't it? Don't think that I don't know a hell what you are going to do. You think throwing me and Rin into a room so that you can fight to protect us? I am not that weak as you think! And what you said before, it left me questions and I want answers so don't die before I say so!"

"Now young lady, it's for your own goo—"

"Telling me the whole truth of what is actually going on would be for my own good! You're hiding something, father, don't deny it!"

"I did not! Now, get to your room and get packed! You too, Rin. Both of you must leave at the first light of dawn."

"Father!"

"When all of this is over, I'll tell you. I promise. Okay?"

Kagura sighed. Rin was her priority right now since demons had found out the truth about him. "Fine."

"Hold on a sec!" Rin suddenly yelled. "Why are we leaving?"

"You should realize the demons' target is you."

"So if I leave, everything will be solved, right?"

The girl knew where Rin was going with this. "Rin, father didn't mean that."

"Then I'll leave instead! Isn't that easier?" Rin walked towards the door but Shiro stopped him. The boy pushed Shiro's hand away from him with anger.

"Leave me be! Even at the end, you still chose to abandon me!"

"Rin…" Kagura muttered. "Father didn't—"

"Shut up Kagura! After all I'm not a good son… no, I'm not even _your _son!" Rin glared at Shiro. "I'm just a stranger! Stop pretending to be my family! Stop pretending to be my father!"

Kagura's eyes widened in shock as she watched Shiro slapped Rin on his left cheek loudly.

"Dawn's coming." Gently, Shiro spoke. "Go pack your stuff."

Rin remained silent for awhile. "Fine." He walked back to his room slowly.

Kagura knew deep down in Shiro's heart, Shiro was regretting that he slapped his son. His palm was red. She wanted to step forward and console him.

Then it happened.

Shiro suddenly fell to his knees, his hand clutching his chest tight.

"Father!" Kagura rushed forward.

"Stop!" Shiro yelled.

Kagura halted.

"Don't come any closer. Leave me, quick!"

Ominously, all the light bulbs in the chapel shattered into pieces and dark blanketed the place. Kagura had a bad feeling. She immediately jumped onto the spot between Rin and Shiro, defending the boy. "Rin, stand back."

"What the—"

Suddenly, Shiro snickered in a wicked way. "I finally got this body."

"Crap. He's possessed," Kagura gritted.

Shocked, the colour from Rin's face drained away. "By who?"

"Your blood father, Satan." The familiar white glow retook its position over Kagura's body.

"It's so nice seeing you, my son," Shiro, or Satan, laughed as he erupted in blue flames. "I am Satan, your father."

And all hell broke loose.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Rin**

They were at the cemetery, before Shiro's gravestone.

Rain drizzled. As most of the people left, including Yukio, Rin stood in the rain, staring languidly at the gravestone. His clothes and hair were soaking wet but he didn't mind. He would think it as a punishment from God for letting his father die.

Yes, his father, Shiro, died before his eyes. The man stabbed his heart so that Satan will not take his son to Gehenna.

Remorse and grief mixed up in Rin's heart like a cocktail and it didn't taste nice. It was awful.

Why? He asked God. Why would Shiro die? He was such a nice man, such a caring father. And Rin loved him so much. Yet Shiro lost his life so easily like fire after the candle burnt off.

_I wasn't strong enough, that's why._

"Rin, time to go." A soft voice behind him spoke. Kagura stood a few feet from him, holding an umbrella in her hand.

"You go. I'll stay a little longer."

Kagura sighed. She was about to leave until she realized they weren't alone. Men in black suits surrounded them in a circle. She had a feeling they weren't friendly.

The girl nudged Rin, who then realized the same. "What the—"

A man of purple hair appeared before them. He had a goatee on his chin and held an umbrella in his hand. Clad in white, pink and purple, the man bowed before them as a sign of respect. "Finally we meet, Rin Okumura and Kagura-chan."

"—chan?" Rin stared at Kagura, whose eyes fixed on the weird man. Does Kagura know him?

"No, I do not know him, Rin." Kagura seemed like she had read his mind. "I've heard of him from father, but I've never seen him in person… until now."

"Ahh… but I've heard quite a lot of you from Shiro. I'm True Cross Knights Japan Branch President, Mephisto Pheles, Shiro's friend. I've come here to condole his death.

"You're an exorcist?" Rin asked. He had known of exorcists after Shiro explained to him when he rescued him from Astaroth earlier.

"Yes. I have known quite well of you." Mephisto turned to look at Kagura. "And you too, of course. You are an exorcist too, raised and taught by Shiro himself and yet you have not met others like you. Shiro is such protective over you."

Rin gaped. "What?!" He pointed an accusing finger at Kagura. "You're one too?!"

"I'll explain later," the girl replied calmly, as if she expected an interrogation from him. "Right now, Mephisto, would you please kindly explain our purpose here?"

"I am here to take you under my care, Kagura-chan. And about you, Satan's son, your presence here is a threat to Assiah."

"I knew it!" Kagura stepped into the gap between Rin and Mephisto. White aura glowed faintly over her body. "You're not taking or killing Rin. Not under my watch."

"Ahh… you've misunderstood, Kagura-chan. I'm not going to kill him. Not just yet." Mephisto diverted his vision to Rin. "I am going to give _you_ two choices. Let us kill you or you kill us then run. Or… you can choose to end your life yourself. Which you prefer?"

"Stop talking crap, Mephisto," Kagura hissed. Rin could feel dark aura emanated from her. She was angry and not to be messed with.

Without hesitation, the boy spoke. "I want to be your comrade." His words took both Kagura and Mephisto by surprise.

"No matter what you think or what you say, I'm not Satan's son. My only father is Shiro Fujimoto! I am going to be an exorcist!"

Mephisto rolled his eyes. "What do you think you're going to do when you become one?"

"I will kick Satan's ass!"

And the man laughed.

"What the hell is so funny about?" Rin yelled while Kagura glared at both of them.

"Satan's son is going to be an Exorcist! This is intriguing! Fine then! You shall be one!"

Even though Rin was serious, Kagura couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. _What was he thinking? _

"Really?"

"The path that lies ahead of you is full of obstacles. I hope you're ready."

"I am neither human nor demon now. I will become an Exorcist!"

"Well, I hope it's a right decision. Now then, Kagura-chan, will you kindly assist him in this so that he wouldn't die before he becomes a full-fledged Exorcist?"

Kagura made no comments and nodded.

"Good. From now on, both of you shall be under my care until someone takes over. If there is any."

Rin looked at the girl who stayed silent after he made a huge decision. What was she thinking now? How many secrets she had hid from him?

"You owe me a lot of explanations, Kagura Kureha **(1)**." said Rin.

* * *

**Kagura**

"It all began when I was 10, 2 years after I was adopted into the family," said Kagura. She and Rin were at a café, ordering warm coffee and food to replenish their energy. Seeing they were dripping with water, a kind waitress brought them towels to dry themselves up.

"I remember when you're 10, you kept hiding yourself at home and refused to go to school," added Rin while sipping his coffee. "You said you saw monsters and Old Man said they were just part of your imagination." He tapped his chin with his finger. "Let me guess… they're real."

She nodded. "After father gave me a four-leaf clover for protection, things died down. But then one night, a storm hit home and I was in the kitchen. Father and the others were busy with leaks in the roof. Then, a huge, ugly monster came out from nowhere attacked me. It had huge wings and was scary. Those huge red eyes… a horrible nightmare. I screamed but no one heard me. It grabbed me and spoke like a human."

"What did it say?"

"It said: '_I have found you, abomination. Your death will make it easy for so many people. Those slayers will never get you. Long live the King!_'"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"No idea. Probably it was drunk or just hated humans."

"I cried and prayed that father will rescue me. Instead, the monster suddenly dropped me and yelled in pain, like his hand caught fire. Next thing I knew I was glowing, literally in white. The white glow seemed to protect me and harmed the monster. Then I felt like I know what to do but I had never done it before. I raised my hand into the air, pointing the ceiling and the white glow dissipated from my body and formed a white spear in the air. I aimed my hand at the monster and the spear immediately flew straight to it, right through its heart. At that moment, father came in with a rifle in his hand. But the monster had burst through the ceiling and fled."

"No wonder there's a huge hole in the ceiling that time. I thought lightning bolts did it."

"Father then told me I was gifted with the powers of an Aria. So I underwent training with him and became a Middle First Class Aria."

"Those bolt and light attack you used to fry Asta…whatever his name was… it's your gift?"

She nodded.

"An Exorcist can do that?!"

"Maybe… I don't know. I've never met other Exorcists like me except a few that father knows."

"Why?"

"No idea. Father doesn't seem to like me meeting others."

"How come you never told me, your _best friend_, any of that?"

"Father made me swear not to."

Rin suddenly got excited. "If I get to be an Exorcist, can I do the things you do? Wouldn't be awesome! I can fry anything I want! Light attack! Bolt attack!"

Kagura sighed. "You can only hurt demons with that. And it's not called 'Light attack, bolt attack'. That's stupid."

"Yeah I know. So teach me."

"I don't think you're the type to be an Aria."

"Aria?"

"Exorcists are separated into a few classes. Before you become one, you have to undergo exams and become a Meister. As a Meister, you can choose the class or classes you want or can be. There's Dragoon uses guns, Knight which uses swords, Doctor which heals, Aria which sings holy prayers and Tamer which summons demons to aid in fights."

"Ooo…"

"I think you're the Knight type, since you have Kurikara with you." Kagura glanced at the sheathed sword on Rin's back. "By the way, you cannot unsheathe that sword unless emergency or else your powers will be awakened. Normal people wouldn't like seeing a boy in blue flames and a tail attempting murder at them."

"I'm not doing murder!"

"Try explaining to them and they'll panic even worse."

"Fine."

"And keep it by your side all the time."

"Yeah…"

"_We're here to bring you news live from around the city. Murders escalated to 5 people dead this week_," said the news reporter on the TV near them. "_Police suspected the murders are committed by the same serial killer and orders people to stay indoors if possible and do not walk alone. Fortunately, one man here is lucky to be alive after an attempted murder upon him_."

The screen was taken over by a disfigured man with scars and blood over his face. He looked terrified. "_The man… he tried to kill me… he carried a sword and had… wings… it was huge… horrifying… wings… sword…_"

"_Police now suspect the killer as a man who would probably be in disguise of a winged person. Identifications are unknown…_"

Rin took a bite out of the bread served by the waitress. "Wings? That's just stupid."

Kagura's face remained solid solemnity.

"What? You think a…" he whispered. "A demon did it?"

"Possible. But I have never heard of such from father or the True Cross Knights. Maybe this time Exorcists will intervene."

"Yeah, well, that's none of my business. Right now, Kagura Kureha, I order you to train me to become an exorcist the world has never seen before!"

"What?"

"I mean umm… I request you with pure sincerity?" he squeaked.

She smiled. "Okay."

"YES! Let the training begin!"

* * *

"It's time."

"Do you think so?"

"People are dead. We must hurry before it's too late. Barachiel wishes no harm to her."

"Aye!"

* * *

**Kagura**

It was already 1 in the morning and the girl found it difficult to sleep.

Kagura's mind was filled with questions. She remembered how Shiro looked like when he found her using the powers of an Aria. He looked absolutely shocked. It was like the world crashed onto him or something. He told her she was a gifted Aria but she had an intuition that he was hiding something from her. And why did he keep her away from other exorcists?

Then there was the Satan problem. When Satan took over Shiro's body, he said something to her before Shiro committed suicide.

_Abomination child, I must kill you here before things get worse at Gehenna. The pact must be protected. _

He wanted to kill her. Satan wanted to kill her. His purpose was not only to take Rin home. She was wanted dead.

What was going on?

Father's last words rang in her head: _Rin is my son! I won't let you take him! Kagura is no abomination! She is my daughter! No one takes them away from me!_

Did all of these have any connection with the weird nightmare she had before?

Kagura wanted to cry. So many questions yet no answers.

_Father, where are you when I need you?  
_

* * *

**(1)_ kureha_: it means 'black wing'. (possible foreshadowing)**

**Yay! Chapter 4 is up!**

**From now on, I will update every 2 weeks on Saturday or on Sunday. Many thanks for those who reviewed and liked this story! Love you guys!**

**Review please? **


	6. Chapter 5

**Sorry guys. This chapter took so long. Please continue to read and if any comments please PM me or review. Lots of love and thanks!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Rin**

"AMAZING!"

Rin's eyes widened as they arrived the infamous True Cross Academy. It looked like a hill from afar, consisting of a myriad of buildings piling onto each other. It was extraordinary architecture that amazed and astonished its visitors every time.

"This here is the academy city which contains all sorts of infrastructures," Mephisto explained.

They were in a pink limousine (yes, _pink_ limousine) heading into the heart of the academy. Besides Rin and Mephisto, Yukio and Kagura were with them too. Mephisto had picked them up at the chapel. All along the way, Kagura read her book (which was not Rin's favourite pastime) and Yukio remained silent, reading intently a paper with a lot of words.

Rin watched his brother, seemingly ignoring him. He knew Yukio was sad for Old Man's death, but does he know the truth behind it? Did Yukio Okumura, the rising star of his family, knew what his older brother really was? Yukio didn't ask any further, nor did request any answers from Rin. That troubled him.

_What the hell was Yukio thinking?_

The limousine parked at the entrance of the academy. "We're here. Okumura-kun, change into your uniform."

"Should have told me earlier," Rin grunted.

Kagura closed her book. "Well, this is where I leave. Meet you guys after school."

"You are not going to school?"

"Kagura-chan has a job to do," Mephisto explained.

Before Rin could react, Kagura had hopped off the limousine and waved goodbyes at them. "Bye guys. Good luck, Yukio."

"I hope so too," Yukio replied and his vision returned to the paper he held.

Rin pouted. _I think I should be the one who needs more luck now._

* * *

**Kagura**

The black-haired girl walked around the academy, following the instructions Mephisto gave her. She was to stay in a place with the boys and her imagination ran wild as she wondered what kind of luxury palace she will be in.

After a few turns, the 'luxury palace' was now in front of her, looking not so luxury as she thought it would be.

It was an old abandoned male dormitory that stood solitary from other buildings. Its colour faded away, worn out by time. The windows were dusty than ever and she wondered how long will it take to make them spotless. Kagura stepped into the building bravely and a musty scent gushed into her nostrils. _Gotta put air fresheners in my shopping list._

The room she was staying was no. 603, beside the boys' room, 602. She opened the door to her room which creaked ominously. Her room was larger than expected. Her luggage was on the floor at the centre of the room, as promised by Mephisto that he would bring her luggage for her. A dusty study table stood before the only window in the room. Her bed was by the corner, with new pillows and a blue blanket. On the other side of the room was an old yet exquisite wooden closet which was way larger than her old one. Beside the closet was a human-sized mirror and dresser, completed with a set of make-up.

_Seriously, make-up?_

She opened the closet, and to her astonishment, it was jam-packed with clothes she had never seen or worn before. There were dresses, blouses, skirts and pants of different colours and sizes neatly hung next to each other. She touched one of the dresses and it felt so smooth under her fingers.

She shrieked, trying hard to contain her happiness. Even a girl like her loved pretty clothes.

Beside the clothes were layers of drawers and she opened them one by one. Jewelries, accessories of shapes and sizes that ranged from earrings to necklaces sparkled and glittered.

"The clothes are fine, but this is definitely getting out of hand." Kagura meticulously took out a necklace which was embedded with a huge red ruby. "Jewelries? All my life I couldn't even get enough money just to buy an earring." She placed it back to the drawer and noticed there was a note stuck to the door of the closet. It said, "Compliments from Mephisto."

Kagura raised an eyebrow. What was in for him to dress her up that pretty?

She closed the closet. "I am asking that man to take all of this back. Pretty, but I can't wear them. Besides, I prefer my old ones."

A breeze entered the room, whipping off her hair. Wondering where it came from, she realized the window was left opened. _I thought it was closed?_ She walked over to the window near the study table but noticed something worth her time.

A book on the table.

It was the size of both of her palms and had a brownish leathery cover. It was locked by a tiny gold lock which was made out of metal.

Curiosity was killing her. She had to find the key.

As if God heard her prayers, a key, as tiny as her pinkie was not far from where the book was. Without hesitation, she inserted the key into the keyhole and with a 'click' the book was unlocked. Although questions roamed in her mind like where and how did the book get here, she couldn't care much.

She flipped open the first page. The words were scribbled in a tidy manner which was relief to her eyes.

_Entry 1_

_I didn't expect to find this. After having two wonderful boys as my children, I enjoyed being a father. I seldom join the front lines now because I was afraid my sons will lose their father too early. But fate seemed to draw me nearer to things incomprehensible by normal people. _

_The girl I found at the gates of my chapel fainted after the 'demonstration'. The mark on her arm had disappeared. Who is she? Is she the one mentioned in legends? Even as a paladin I rarely gets a chance to know these 'people' that also is part of the True Cross Knights. _

_I considered of passing the girl to Vatican. But then I noticed a letter in the girl's pocket. I opened it and it was intended to me. Lord…_

_It was a letter from an old friend of mine, who used to be an Exorcist but retired. He wanted me to keep her safe. She was not to be handed to Vatican or demons or even people of her own kind. What was going on? _

_I looked at the girl. She was fragile. And here comes my instincts as a father, yearning at my conscience to keep the girl out of harm's way._

_And finally, I accepted her as part of my family._

"A diary?" said Kagura. "Who's? An Exorcist? No… a paladin to be precise."

As her fingers were eager to flip the page, a soft knock came from her door. But it was actually impossible that anyone should be in this building now except for her. Although rationally she should not open the door, but her intuitions were telling her it was probably nothing. And so, she went to open the door. To her surprise, she found no one in the corridor. Not even a breath of wind.

She closed the door. The knocking came back. This time, she felt a chill down her spine and her hairs sticking out of her skin. A g...ghost?She steeled herself and reopened the door, her head sticking out of the room and looked left and right. No one.

Hell.

She gulped and proceeded to close the door, but a voice halted her.

"Don't you dare slam the door in my face again."

She looked down where the source of the voice was. It was a white cat with brown mocha eyes and a pink ribbon tied on its tail. Oddly, it was wearing clothes that fitted its size. Kagura and the cat stared at each other for quite some time, each were checking the other out. After a short silence, Kagura scratched her head, wondering if her mind was playing tricks at her.

"For once there, I thought you were the one who spoke," she said, uncertain of herself.

The cat stared back at her, with eyes that seemed to see right through Kagura's soul. "Yes I just did," it spoke with a soft feminine voice.

The girl was dumbfounded and gaped at it with widened eyes. Her mind was definitely playing tricks at her. She must be dreaming by now.

"What?" it spoke once more. "Never seen a cat talk?"

Kagura continued to gape at the talking cat, her mind racing with myriad possibilities of how can a cat actually talk. She pointed her finger at it accusingly and yelled, "you're a demon?!"

The cat gave her a sharp glare. "Do not slander me for demons."

"But… you talk. Normal cats don't talk…"

Pissed off, the cat suddenly enlarged into a full grown huge feline. Its clothes were replaced by metal armor of silver and gold. Its paws were as huge as a book, with claws so sharp they could tear a man into shreds. The ribbon was still tied to its tail, adding a feminine touch to its appearance. Even on four paws, the feline was as tall as Kagura and way much larger than her. It looked more like a cross hybrid between a tiger and a wolf, only with the exceptions of stripes and a canine face. The most peculiar part was a pair of white feathery wings spread out on its back.

With a deep yet feminine voice, it growled. "Do I look normal to you?"

Shock was not even enough to describe what the girl was feeling now. She pointed at the wings on the huge feline's back, colour drained from her face.

"Wings…"

"What is wrong with my wings?"

"Wings…" Kagura repeated. Then, images of people with wings and lots and lots of blood flashed before her eyes. They were devastating images, so horrifying she wished they will never happen.

But it felt like it happened a long time ago, and she was there when it happened.

Wings brought her a bad omen. She was afraid of them.

Her head hurts. She held her head in her hands, trying to ease the pain. "Get away from me…"

The cat looked at its wings. "Wings? You're afraid of them?"

"GET AWAY!" she screamed.

* * *

**Yukio**

Yukio and Rin were just stepping into the dorm when they heard the scream.

"Kagura!" both of them yelled after recognizing the scream. Quickly they ran up the stairs and stopped before room 603. Rin banged on the door while yelling the girl's name. Yukio loaded his gun with bullets just in case.

"Damn it, Kagura!" Rin cursed. "Open this door or else I'll burst it open!"

Yukio jolted. "Nii-san, you cannot break through a girl's room! Especially Kagura's! She'll… she'll skin you!" He was not joking about the skinning part.

"She can thank me when I save her sorry butt!" With that, Rin punched the door with great force. The door broke into two and fell apart. Rin rushed in while Yukio sighed but he too followed. What he saw next was not pleasant.

In the room was a huge white feline in armor with eyes of a ferocious tiger. In its mouth dangled a languid and disheveled figure with hair as black as the night. Yukio immediately knew Kagura was in huge trouble.

Rin, without further hesitation, drew out his sword. Blue flames coated him instantaneously. "LET HER GO!"

The feline dropped Kagura gently and growled. "Back off, demon, human."

"Talking cat?" Yukio muttered.

"What if I don't back off?" Rin yelled, his sword aimed at the cat.

Without warning, the cat charged at Rin with its sharp talons and teeth.

* * *

**Yay! I've finally added a cat into the story! It isn't like the cats from FT, but slightly similar. So... what do you guys think? I am though struggling with what names I should put for the two cats in the story. Should I stick with 'Charle and Happy' or just change them? Ideas and/or comments please, guys! **

**Thank you so much for reading, Kyoichi Amaya, xXFlipTHEPaigeXx, huejaded965, NekoShooter, xasianbuddyx, Last Assassin's Shadow and those who loved but didn't review this story!**

**Anyway, review please? Review! **


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Yukio**

"Nii-san!" Yukio pulled out his gun and fired a bullet at the gigantic feline. It dodged and the bullet nearly hit Kagura who was still unconscious on the ground.

"Watch it!" Rin yelled, diverting his attention from the cat. "You nearly hit—" his words were cut off when the cat pounced onto him. It bared its sharp teeth at him while one of its paws crushed his abdomen. Blue flames came to Rin's help as they burnt the cat off him. Rin charged at the cat with his sword but it opened its wings and flapped. A force of strong wind pushed the boy to the wall while Yukio tried to remain his stance.

Yukio gritted his teeth. He put away his gun and took out a holy water bomb. It detonated when it was thrown at the cat. But the cat didn't even budge from the bomb. It was as if holy water had no effect on it. Or was it even a demon to begin with?

His brother charged again. After a few missed attacks, Rin was able to grab the cat's tail and tugged on it. The cat fell and Rin jumped onto its body, one of his legs pressing against the cat's stomach. It struggled under his feet but the pressure on it was strong. Blue flames of Rin's scorched the cat's fur and it cried a loud roar. Rin raised his sword aloft, threatening to kill the cat; albeit Yukio thought the cat should be left alive so that the questions in his head can be solved.

_What is it? Why is it here? What does it want with Kagura?_

Yukio wanted to halt Rin when the sword was falling to kill the cat. However, the sword stopped just right before it slashed the cat. The sharp tip of the sword was just inches away from the cat's head.

"Leave before I change my mind. I don't want to take your life. It's not my right to do so," said Rin as he took his sword back.

Yukio was relieved. He should know better that his nii-san was not a merciless murderer.

Suddenly, he spotted a blue streak dashing towards Rin from the edge of his eye. He took his gun but the blue streak had hit Rin on his stomach and yet again sent the poor boy flying to the wall.

"Nii-san!" Yukio turned to look at his brother and then at the blue streak that was floating above the white cat, seemingly defending it. Then he realized the blue streak was nothing but a tiny blue cat with wings, floating in the air.

"Get away from her!" the blue cat yelled at Rin and then glared at Yukio.

One cat was trouble enough. Now there are two. And it also talks and flies. What has the world turned into now?

"What the hell are you doing here?" the white cat roared, chiding the blue one. "You're not a Warrior! Get out of the way!"

"I maybe just an Acolyte, but I can fight too!" the blue cat yelled back, but it had its eyes fixed on Rin and Yukio. It growled at the two. "Come any closer and I'll show you my fury!"

However, Yukio still aimed his gun at the white cat, watching its every move. Compared to the blue one, the white cat was more lethal and dangerous. He released the safety lock of the gun and prepared to shoot if it retaliates. "Get out of here or else."

The white cat hissed and growled. "I am not leaving without Kagura." It stood on its four paws now while its white wings stretched behind it, making it look fearsome. But Yukio was less intimidated. He was not afraid to stand against the enemy when Kagura's life was at stake.

"Goddamn it!" Rin yelled. "How many times do you have to do that?!" He rubbed his aching back. Blue flames still danced around his body.

"You should leave us be!" the blue cat yelled. "We will be gone once we fulfill our purpose!"

"As long as it involves Kagura, _our friend," _Rin emphasized on the phrase 'our friend'. "It will be our business!"

There was a glaring contest between the cats and Rin. The intensity between them was phenomenally increasing. The situation was like a timed bomb, either side was packed with exploding rage and was ready to be unleashed at each other. The cats growled and hissed. Rin's flames raged along with his anger.

Yukio was the only one who calmed down and used his mind to analyze the situation before it gets worse. "Can you at least tell us what you want with her?"

The white cat turned to glare at him. "I don't talk to demons or humans. And in this case," it turned to glance at Rin. "Half-demons too."

At the other side of the room, Kagura, who was unconscious throughout the battle, woke up with a headache. She scanned the area and gaped. Her room was a mess. Rin was having a stare down with two cats, one blue and one white. Then she remembered what happened before she passed out.

"Kagura!" Yukio was the first to notice her and rushed to her to give her medical attention. "Are you alright?"

"Head hurts…" she muttered. "But I'm fine."

Rin diverted his attention to her. "Hey, what did those cats, especially the WHITE one did to you?!"

"I did nothing to her! She passed out!" the white cat retorted.

"Then why would she pass out like that?"

"It's okay, Rin. They did nothing." Kagura stood up. She rubbed her temples. "I'm fine."

"But—"

She turned to look at the cats. Her face was suddenly aghast. Her butt fell to the ground and she struggled to get away from the cats. "Get away from me… w-wings… get away…"

"Wings?" Yukio looked at the wings the cats had.

"GET AWAY!" she screamed. As she did so, white aura coated her and she unleashed a strong force that pushed the others away from her.

Rin sheathed his sword and rushed to her to comfort her. Yukio ran back to his room to get a sedative just in case. The white cat and the blue cat glanced at each other knowingly and kept their wings.

"Oi, Kagura!" Rin yelled and shook the girl. "Snap out of it! It's okay now!"

Kagura covered her face in her palms. "No it's not okay. They are all gone because of… wings… cursed wings…"

"There are no wings here! No wings!" Rin muttered softly. "Stop panicking and calm down."

"No… wings?" Kagura looked up at him. Tears welled in her jade green eyes. He nodded.

"Good…" and once more, she fainted in his arms.

**Kagura**

When she woke up, she was puzzled to find Rin, Yukio and two cats in her room.

"Whoa…" Kagura rubbed her head. "Are you guys having a party in my room without my consent?"

"You mean you don't remember anything?" Yukio asked.

"I do remember seeing a white cat," she glanced at the large white cat in the corner of her room, glaring at Rin and he glared back.

"What about your panic attack?" Rin asked but his eyes fixated on the white cat.

"What panic attack?"

Yukio remained silent. He was deep in his thoughts.

"Yukio?"

"Oh. It was probably nothing."

"But she fainted!" Rin yelled.

"I'll just get you some vitamins. You are insufficient of them. That's why you fainted."

"But—"

"Nii-san, could you please be quiet so that Kagura-chan can rest?"

Rin pouted his lips and shut his mouth up. He grumbled something under his breath.

"Anyway…" Kagura said. "Why are you cats doing in my room? What do you want? And how can you talk?" She remembered meeting the white cat which talked and completely surprised her.

The blue cat jumped onto her bed. "Well… we're here for you. We want you. And we can talk because… we can talk."

"That does not make much sense!" Rin yelled.

"You shut the hell up. He's not talking to you," the white cat chided the boy.

"Oi! I'm not done with you yet! You shut up!"

"Why don't we take this outside?"

"My pleasure!"

"ENOUGH!" Kagura roared. "You guys better be quiet before I make you."

Rin snorted and the white cat ignored him.

"What I meant was we are your Guardians," the blue cat continued. "We are here to give you guidance and protection."

"Eh?" Rin, Yukio and Kagura were confused.

The blue cat sighed. "Don't you know anything of the Guardians of the Ang—" it was interrupted when the white cat grabbed its tail, pulled it to it and then stuffed some unknown object into its mouth.

"Actually," the white cat continued while the blue cat was muffled. "Aoife Barachiel sent us. We are here to… become your familiars. We are… her welcome gifts to you. Right?" the white cat nudged the muffled blue cat. It managed to release an 'aye'.

"That's far-fetched," Rin grumbled.

"Aoife Barachiel?" _The one that father mentioned? _

"She… sends her greetings to you."

"So you're now her familiar?" Yukio asked.

The blue cat spit the object from its mouth. "Aye!"

"My… cats?" Kagura still did not believe it was happening.

"Aye sir!" the blue cat jumped onto her lap. "We are your familiars now! You're our master!" The white cat too nodded.

Rin suddenly yelled. "Kagura, don't trust them! They're… EVIL!" Now Yukio had to admit his brother was exaggerating.

"I think they're nice. And I like cats."

"No! Just look at this one!" Rin pointed at the white cat. "It tried to kill me! Look at its fangs and talons and—" suddenly, he realized the cat became tinier than before, less vicious and ferocious. It was now the same size with the blue cat. "How did you—"

"That was my battle mode. I can turn into one or back if I want to," the white cat explained. "Not that an idiot like you will understand."

"WHAT?!"

Kagura smiled. "Come on, Rin. It's just a joke."

"Oi, Yukio, say something in this!"

Yukio rubbed his temples. "I am speechless."

"Oi!"

The blue cat spoke with a gleeful voice. "So… we're your familiars now?" Kagura nodded.

"Aye! Let me introduce myself. I am Happy! And the pretty white cat there is called Asteri**(1)**.

Kagura grabbed the cat and hugged it. "You're so adorable!"

Rin however glared at Asteri. "I have my eyes on you."

"Be careful that I'll gorge them when you're asleep."

"See! EVIL!"

"He's an idiot, isn't he?" Happy asked.

"You can say that," Kagura replied while Yukio sighed and nodded a little.

"HEY!"

Asteri smirked.

Rin suddenly remembered something. "Kagura, did you know? Yukio is an Exorcist too! He teaches my class!"

"I know that a long time ago."

He felt like he was struck by lightning. The truth was surprising and horrifying…

…that he was the only one who didn't know the truth about his family of Exorcists. His face blackened and emanated dark yet sad aura. "How… how can you do this to me? Why am I the only one who didn't know anything until now?!" He yelled particularly at no one but the ceiling.

"He is a knucklehead, isn't he?" Happy asked again.

"I'M RIGHT HERE!"

They laughed, including Yukio. Then, Kagura spotted something about her room. She yelled. "YOU BROKE MY DOOR?!"

"It was an emergency! You screamed!" Rin raised his hands in defense but he was unable to dodge the punch that came in contact with his jaw.

"Fix it! And my room too!" Kagura yelled furiously.

Yukio sighed. _Told you she'll skin you._

**The cats have finally arrived! Sorry this chapter took so long! But I compensated with a longer chapter this time. Forgiven?**

**Come on guys. I know you can do more than just 12 reviews. Pretty please with sprinkles on top? **

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. The next one would probably take a few more weeks so please be patient. **

**Many thanks to _nekoshooter,__ Kyoichi Amaya _and those who loves this story. **

**Love you guys!**

**Please review~~~**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

**Yukio**

"Where are we going again?" Kagura asked while she held Happy in her arms. Asteri**(1)** preferred to walk than becoming a 'lap-cat'.

Yukio buttoned up his black coat while Rin wondered when he can get a coat like that. "We're going to the Exorcist Shop."

"Where is that?" Kagura asked.

Yukio was fazed. "You mean, you've never gone to the shop before?"

"Eh…" Kagura scratched her head. "Father never brought me to a place like that, so I guess… nope."

Yukio's forehead creased. More and more questions popped in his head. _Why father didn't bring Kagura to the shop even though she's an Exorcist? Was there something about Kagura that he has to hide from the outer world, or was he just being an overprotective father?_

"Yukio!" Kagura's voice echoed in his ears and he snapped out of his thoughts.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Four Eyes?" Rin grumbled. "You've been like that for the whole day."

"I'm fine. Let's just get on with it." He took out a golden coloured key. "This is one of the keys that only a full-fledged Exorcist can possess. This key can bring us to the shop."

"Amazing…" Rin's eyes sparkled.

"Take a longer time to admire it. It's not like you're going to get it anyway," Asteri mocked. Rin glared at her and Happy tried hard not to giggle.

Yukio glanced at Kagura. "Please don't tell me you don't have keys too."

"Of course I do!" She took out a bunch of keys which dangled melodiously. "I seldom use them though. I rather walk."

"Well, to go to Exorcist Shop, you can't walk there. You'll need keys." Yukio meticulously inserted the key into the keyhole of a door nearby and opened the door. What the others see at the other side of the door was not another room. Instead, it was blue skies and fresh air. Rin, Happy and Asteri had their eyes widened in amazement. They stepped into an open path that was very, very high in the air.

"Awesome!" Happy cooed. "How did we end up here?" He looked down from the ledge of the path. Buildings that looked huge before now appeared tiny and miniature.

Kagura let the cat down onto the ground. "The keys actually act as a medium for quick transportation. Some sort of teleportation key."

"Half-demon there is definitely not getting these keys forever," said Asteri in a sarcastic tone.

"You cat! Don't look down on me like that! I am going to become the world's best Exorcist and you're be kissing my shoes later!" Rin yelled.

"In your dreams."

"You—" Before Rin could continue, Yukio grabbed his collar and dragged him forward, ignoring his protests. After reaching a point where no one else could hear them, very further in front of the other three, Yukio released his brother. "What the hell, Yukio?!"

"We need to talk. In private." Yukio muttered in a low voice.

"What so private that Kagura can't listen?" Rin looked around so that no one was eavesdropping. "Is it plans to get rid that no good white cat?"

"No. It's about Kagura."

"What about her?"

"Don't you think it's weird? Kagura's a full-fledged Exorcist and father didn't even bring her to the Exorcist Shop and let her get in touch with other Exorcists except him and me."

"So? Probably Old Man was just being overprotective. She is, after all, his precious daughter." Rin shrugged. But as soon as he realized the solemnity on Yukio's face, he stopped joking and began to listen with attention of what Yukio has to say.

Yukio was silent for awhile then he sounded his hypothesis. "I think… father's hiding something from us. And it's about Kagura." He turned to see the girl. She was having fun with her cats and didn't take much notice of them.

"Why would you say so? Is it about her fear of… wings?"

"That remains a myth to me. Whatever happened to her in the past that involves wings must be traumatic to her. Wings maybe reminds her of a tragedy. That's why she fainted when she saw Happy and Asteri's wings."

"So you lied!"

"I need to be sure and I can't let her worry. You know her."

"Yeah. She could be stubborn sometimes."

"Anyway, about father hiding secrets from us… I suspect it was about Kagura's true identity or past. I'm going to find out what."

"It would be like a total mystery! Both of us will become Sherlock Bolmes!"

"It's 'Holmes'."

"Even if Old Man _is _hiding something, he's dead. We can't ask him anything."

"That I'm aware of. I have other ways."

"What?"

"We're here." Yukio stopped in front of Japanese style house surrounded by a lot of greens. It was considered nice and had a warm façade. Beside the house was a greenhouse. There were two fleet of stairs in which one led to the house and the other led to the greenhouse.

"Stay here, nii-san. You can't enter since you're not an Exorcist yet," ordered Yukio and he went up the stairs.

"Ooi! You haven't answered my question yet!" Rin yelled.

"What question?" Kagura asked and the boy was shocked by her presence. He sweated.

"N-nothing…" Talking of Kagura behind her back was a serious offence.

"There's water coming out of you," pointed out Happy.

"It's hot around here!" He flushed. Asteri silently murmured, "Idiot".

"Kagura, are you coming?" Yukio yelled from the top of the stairs.

"I'll be there soon," she replied.

"And nii-san, don't go anywhere and don't touch anything." Yukio ordered and Rin glared at him. Soon, Yukio stepped into the house.

Happy pointed at the second set of stairs. "Hey Asteri, why don't we go there?"

Asteri nodded. "Fine. I've got nothing else to do."

"I'll come too!" Kagura chimed in.

"I thought Yukio said not to go anywhere!" Rin chided them.

"That order only restricts an immature half-demon like you," Asteri mocked. Rin's patience was being tested the umpteenth time today.

Happy spread out his wings and floated in mid-air. Rin immediately grabbed him and hide the cat's wings from Kagura. "Are you nuts? Kagura will go haywire again if she sees those feathers on you."

Kagura smiled. "It's okay, Rin. I'm trying to get use with… wings. I asked Happy and Asteri to spread their wings in front of me as much as they want."

Happy struggled off Rin's grip. He flew round and round Kagura, stopping occasionally to show his wings in front of her. Rin observed Kagura's condition. She was better than before, not fainting though, but looks can be deceiving.

Asteri pointed at Kagura's legs. "Your feet are trembling."

"N-nonsense! Let's just get to the greenhouse."

* * *

**Kagura**

When they arrived to a steel gate and fence, they were stunned by the view within the fence.

It was a blooming garden, filled with lush plants. Dandelions, sunflowers, roses, lavenders… All sorts of blossoms paved the earth with rainbow colours. Verdure nature grew without human intervention. Fragrance of flowers made the air smell sweet and wondrous. Just looking at the beautiful garden could easily make anyone happy. Kagura had never seen such a beautiful place. It felt like heaven on earth.

"Beautiful…" murmured Asteri. The other three nodded.

Amongst the flowers kneeled a blonde in a pink-and-blue kimono. She had shoulder-length hair, green eyes and fair skin. Meticulously, she held a purple flower in her hands and seemed to be tending to the garden.

"Is she the gardener?" While Kagura wanted to call to the girl, Rin accidentally touched the steel gate. The gate electrified him and he cried in pain. A shockwave spread throughout the steel fence and the gate collapsed.

"RIN!"

"S-sorry!"

The blonde looked up from her work at the four strangers. Shock etched over her face. "D-demon?"

"Oh boy…" Asteri muttered.

"It's okay!" Happy said and flew to the girl before Kagura could stop him. His big eyes stared at the girl. "We're no demons! We're friendly cats and humans… sort of…"

The girl was too shocked to reply. "Get away from me, demons!" She backed away, trying to climb away but fell onto her face. She climbed again and after a few steps, she fell again. Rin pulled Happy away from her and Kagura quickly went to assist the girl.

"Are you okay?" Kagura tried to help her up and noticed her legs were disabled.

"You're handicapped?" Asteri, too noticed her legs, pointed out.

The girl nodded. "I can't walk well for quite some time."

"Oh…" Kagura kneeled beside her and smiled. "We're sorry we disturbed you and Rin broke your gate. He'll fix it."

"WHAT?!"

"Anyway, we're not demons. We are really humans. Except for the flying cats. They're cats," Kagura said. Happy floated in the air and waved at the blonde while Asteri smiled and wagged her tail a little.

"Flying cats…" the blonde's eyes were fixated on Happy. It seems she was fascinated by them.

"My name's Kureha Kagura. The boy there is Okumura Rin."

"Correction: _stupid-looking_ boy," Asteri added and she earned glares from Rin.

"And the white cat there is Asteri. And yeah… she talks."

"My name is Happy!" Happy swirled around the blonde. "Aye!"

"Umm… my name is Moriyama Shiemi. It's nice meeting you. Sorry that I called you demons. The gate must have malfunctioned. It wards off demons."

_No wonder… It reacted against Rin…_ Kagura thought and she glanced at Rin. His face was aghast.

He took a seat beside Kagura. "So… you created this garden?"

Shiemi smiled. "Actually, it's my oba-chan**(2)**'s. She taught me a lot of thing here. I love this garden. And I love my oba-chan."

"It's so nice."

She nodded. "However… during winter, she passed away due to an accident." Her eyes were sad. "She must have taken an early step to the Amahara**(3)** Garden."

"I'm sorry," Kagura patted her shoulder.

"What's an Amahara Garden?" Happy asked as he landed on top of Kagura's head.

"It's where God gathered all the flowers and tree in the world. I know it's just a fairy tale but… if that place exists and you can really see all the flowers and trees… I really wanted to go there."

Kagura smiled. "It would be such a nice place." Asteri and Happy nodded in unison.

"Guys?"

The gang looked up to where Yukio and a woman in purple kimono were standing. "Yukio?"

"What are you guys doing here?" Yukio chided, looking angry.

Shiemi stared at Yukio. "Yuki-chan!"

"Yuki-chan?" the other four gasped. "You know each other?"

Yukio nodded. "She is the daughter of the shopkeeper. This boy here is my older brother. And Kagura here is my childhood friend."

"Eh?" Shiemi looked shocked. "Yuki-chan looked more like the older one."

"Actually I'm just playing the role of an elder brother. Nii-san just looks older on the outside."

Kagura giggled and agreed. Asteri snickered and Happy tried to stifle a laugh. Rin glared at Yukio. "Ooi!"

"Shiemi," the woman, Kagura assumed as the shopkeeper, called. "Let sensei**(4)** inspect your leg."

"Oka-san**(5)**! I'm not being possessed by a demon!"

Yukio squatted down before her. "It's just for safety precaution." Shiemi looked at Kagura and she nodded too. Finally, the girl obliged.

Yukio began his inspection. Both Shiemi's legs were covered in veins like the roots of plants. Whatever it was, it had taken root on the poor girl's legs.

" 'Roots'. A Mashou**(6)**.Definitely the work of a demon," said Yukio. His face was grim.

Kagura touched the 'roots' and her instincts told her the same. "But she is not possessed yet. The demon is not strong enough to completely possess a human. It can be a demon that possessed plants, like Greenmans."

Yukio continued. "It's a low-leveled demon, using the soil and Shiemi's legs as a passageway to lodge within the space of the heart. Its real body is in this garden."

"Shiemi, demons create spaces within hearts through conversations with humans," Kagura added. "Have you been talking to any lately?"

Shiemi lowered her head. "How could I have been talking to a demon?"

Her mother stepped forward furiously. "Shiemi! Don't enter this garden again! No matter how much your grandma loves this place, you cannot sacrifice your life to protect it! It's not worth it!"

Her eyes gleamed with determination. "Stop saying things like this! This is oba-chan's precious garden! I hate you!" Suddenly, her eyes went blank and she collapsed.

After letting Shiemi to rest on the bed in the house in the garden, the gang began to discuss. Happy sat on the bed beside her while Asteri stayed outside to scan the area.

"From the looks of it, a lot of energy has been drained away from the legs," Yukio made an assumption. "If we don't exorcise the demon quick, her life will be in danger." They proceeded outside to let the girl rest while Happy stayed with Shiemi.

"Anyway, how come a warehouse has a room like this?" Rin asked, out of curiosity.

"Her oba-chan lived here," the shopkeeper replied. "After her death, the child refused to leave the place. Her leg can't move since. She's just like her oba-chan."

"Is this the reason you and Shiemi fought?" Kagura asked. "Till now all she can think of is her oba-chan, right?"

"Probably."

The four entered the house to rest and have some tea. The shopkeeper smoked from a pipe. Kagura sipped her tea and Rin stood to listen to her. Yukio listened intently.

"I'm a useless mother. And a useless daughter. Since young, Shiemi is the kind of child who will get wounded when she goes to school. Because I'm busy with the shop, so her oba-chan took care of her. However, when she grew up and only thought of her oba-chan, I felt jealous. It's my entire fault she hates me. Even if I tried to fulfill the job as a mother, that child…"

"What you're thinking now is what the demon wants," Yukio replied. "They infiltrate the weakest part of a human heart."

"You should talk to her and tell her how you feel," Kagura added. "That way she'll understand."

Asteri came into the house while flying. "Guys, Sheimi's awake. And… she's watering flowers."

"That child, so stubborn!"

"Mrs Shopkeeper, let me talk to her." Kagura rose from her seat but noticed Rin was long gone. The boy must have gone to see the girl long before she did. Kagura sighed. She patted Asteri's head and they both exited the place. In the garden, they spotted Rin and Shiemi together in a most peculiar way. Shiemi was crying and Rin was holding her.

_What are they doing…?_ Kagura felt uneasiness in the pit of her stomach but she couldn't identify what it was.

Shiemi's cries were loud and clear. "My legs… they can't move any longer!"

Rin's tone was full of determination and anger. "Let me handle this! I'll exterminate these roots!"

While Kagura and Asteri were about to intervene, Yukio suddenly appeared beside them. "I'm sorry that I interrupted."

Rin and Shiemi looked away from each other into the others. Noticing Kagura raised an eyebrow at him and Asteri smirking, Rin let go of Shiemi and blushed. "W-what are you guys doing here?"

"Duh, to help?" Asteri rolled her eyes.

Yukio smiled. "The demon we're dealing is very weak. It'll be done in a matter of minutes." He glanced at Kagura. "Will you help me?" She nodded.

"_Unforgivable_."

Everyone looked stunned. Kagura sensed the presence of a demon. Happy landed on her head. Asteri growled and transformed into her Warrior mode. "Demon. I smell it."

"_Are you trying to break the deal_?"

"It's here."

"_Unforgivable_!"

It began when real roots sprouted from Shiemi's legs like a tree. Her body was coiled by vines and very large leaves grew behind her. On her neck bloomed large petals of a purple flower and a pair of demonic eyes glued on to the flower. Shiemi was like a lifeless doll, its strings pulled by the demon.

"_We will be together, always_!"

"It used her as a shield!" Happy exclaimed.

Asteri growled. "Shield or not, I'll tear that fiend into shreds!"

Rin unsheathed his sword. Blue flames coated him. "We're finally agreeing to something." Both of them leaped forward. Rin intended to shred the demon into ribbons but it took the advantage of its shield. When Rin was about to slice it, it let him slice at where Shiemi was. He stopped his sword in mid-air and cursed. _Crap._

Asteri went straight to the unprotected side of the demon with her claws rising aloft. However, the demon realized her presence and turned around, showing the part where it held Shiemi. The large cat growled. As the demon was busy with the cat, its vulnerable side was exposed to Rin and he took the chance of slicing it. But the demon was agile enough to slip away to a spot where its back was protected by some thick bushes. Asteri and Rin closed in on it, ideas of destroying the demon raced in their minds but neither had the chance to execute them.

"You guys better think of something!" Happy said to Yukio and Kagura. Yukio glanced at the latter, who had the familiar white aura enveloping her. She raised her hand in the air and multiple white swords appeared in the air, all their tips aimed at the demon.

The demon faltered. "_What is this? The power of Light?_"

"Yup. And it's about to be your doom," Asteri grinned. Both she and Rin cornered the demon, making sure it won't bail.

"_You wouldn't dare. Those swords will kill the girl first long before you can touch me!_"

Rin looked shocked. "What it said is true?"

"True or not," Kagura's eyes were fixated on the demon. "Your time ends here." The swords edged closer onto the demon.

"Aye sir!"

"_Y-you wouldn't dare_!"

"Ooi, Kagura, Yukio, what it says is true?!" Rin asked but everyone ignored him.

Kagura smirked. The swords edged closer and closer.

"_Damn you, you Exorcist! You wouldn't dare—" _Before it could finish, the girl had ordered the swords to skewer it. Multiple white swords stuck out of Shiemi's lifeless body. The demon panicked and it detached itself from the girl, intending to bail.

"Rin, now!" Kagura's cue was loud and clear. The half-demon lunged forward and slashed the demon. Blue flames burnt it until nothing was left but its cries of pain. Asteri managed to grab Shiemi and placed her onto the grassy ground. Swords still stuck out of her body.

"Kagura! What the hell did you do?" Rin yelled furiously. Kagura just smiled and snapped her fingers. The swords disappeared from Shiemi. No blood flowed. She was still breathing and uninjured. After a few moments, her eyes snapped open.

"Good. The roots in your legs are gone. Try standing," Yukio suggested. Shiemi did as she told. She stood perfectly on the grassy ground. Indescribable happiness took over her.

Shiemi's mother stood not far from them. She witnessed the whole process. The woman was nothing but glad. "Shiemi…"

"Oka-san." Shiemi was still uncertain about her feelings for her mother. She stood at her original spot, contemplating of what to do next. But Rin slapped her head, causing Kagura and Yukio to be surprised.

Shiemi, with pain, stared at Rin. The latter smiled. "Go on. If you don't go now, you'll sure to regret."

The girl tentatively walked to her mother, wondering what she will do. Her mother had lost the fierceness in her eyes. "I once searched for the Amahara Garden too."

"Eh?"

Without any warning, the woman ran forward and hugged her dearest daughter. Tears welled in her eyes. "Idiot! You made me so worried!"

"I'm sorry, oka-san…"

The other smiled. It was such a nice ending.

"Nice… Anyway, Kagura," Rin asked her. "How come your swords didn't harm Shiemi?"

Kagura winked. "It only works on demons, not humans."

"Oh…"

* * *

**Yukio**

Questions in his head. So many of them.

It was a starry night when he walked to his destination. No one knew where he was going, not even Rin or Kagura. After rounding a corner, he stepped into the street where he had lived for the last 16 years. A few more steps and he made it to the place where he called home. The warm façade of the chapel reminded him of how much he missed the place. So many memories grew in the place.

He pushed open the gate and entered the chapel where the lights were still lit. The chapel looked like it used to be even after the repairs prior to the Astaroth event. In the chapel, four familiar faces were busy chatting away and were about to leave. Only Kyodo realized his presence.

"Yukio!" Kyodo's voice drew the other three's attention. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Yukio stepped forward to confront them. He adjusted his glasses. Solid solemnity was etched on his face. He wasn't back just because he missed the chapel.

"I need you to tell me everything you and father know about Kagura that Rin and I don't."

* * *

**Tada! Cliffhanger! And here's the end of Chapter 7! Took me days to finish… **

**For compensation to my readers for not writing this soon, I made a longer chapter. Like it? Hope you do! **

**My biggest exam in my life is drawing an end on Dec 3, and I'm finally free! I've graduated from high school! For the next few weeks, I'll probably post a chapter every week.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW! **

**From above:**

**(1)Asteri: means 'star' in Greek. **

**(2)Oba-chan: means 'grandma' in Japanese.**

**(3)Amahara: In this anime, it means 'Sky Garden'… (I guess).**

**(4)Sensei: means 'teacher' in Japanese.**

**(5)Oka-san: means 'mother' in Japanese.**

**(6)Mashou: in this anime, in means a wound or injury inflicted by demons. **


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Somewhere in Assiah.

A woman who had long golden hair sheathed her sword in an alley. Ribbons of scarlet dripped from the blade after skewering yet another life of innocent. The tilt of the sword was silver in colour, embedded with one huge ruby that glinted under the moon's glow. Her skin, which was pale, glistened under the moon's rays in colours of mingled cinnamon and gold. A white feather was clipped to her hair just above her right ear. Her aquamarine eyes showed nothing but cold, darkness and cruelty.

The body that lied before her feet was still flowing with blood. The pool of blood soaked her white boots, but she didn't mind. Blood of innocents charged and fueled her. Her lust for blood was never ending. Especially the blood of _those creatures._

She meticulously took out an orb from her pouch that draped over her shoulder. The orb shone in a pink glow. She closed her eyes and began chanting an incantation. "_Take this innocent soul as one of the 99 souls that shall be sacrificed for the ritual into this sacred orb._" As she finished, a white glow penetrated from the skin of the body and bobbed before the woman. Then, the white glow was absorbed into the glowing orb and the orb's glow faded.

She smiled in the most relentless way. "40 more souls to go."

Her fingers gently caressed the golden wing insignia on her left palm. Even under poor light conditions, the insignia didn't lose its glow. The insignia seemed to throb and pulse under her touch, enriching her with power and strength.

Footsteps closed in on her. She whirled around. Surprise etched on her face. A man stepped out of the shadows. He had a handsome face, featured with sandy brown hair and mocha brown orbs. Clad in bronze armor that included a breastplate and metal gauntlets, he bowed before the goddess-like woman.

"Eae**(1)**, what are you doing here?" the woman asked. Her eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.

"My lady, please, just call me by my first name, Ichigen," Ichigen humbly replied. "I am here because master wants us to return. An unfortunate event has taken over."

"The Holy Exorcists made their move, I presume?"

"Yes. And Aoife Barachiel leads."

She smirked. _Finally made a move, eh, Aoife? _"What is their move?"

"Unsure. But they seemed to have started the search on the abomination."

The woman looked into the moonlit sky. It shone bright, accompanied by a myriad of twinkling stars. A pair of white feathery wings unfurled on her back, completely in contrast with the dark alley she was in. "Let us start the search party too then, Ichigen. The day to our success is closing in."

Ichigen nodded. "Yes, Iaoth-sama **(2)**." His wings were too unfurled.

Both of them flapped their wings and flew into the night sky.

* * *

**Rin**

"Rin…"

The sleepy boy rubbed his eyes. Taking a peek through his heavy eyelids, he distinctively saw the face of a gorgeous female. His eyes were caught in her emerald gaze. Slowly it occurred to him that the pair of orbs was so familiar to him. It looked like Kagura's. As he rubbed his eyes again, he did saw Kagura's face before him, within an intimate proximity to him. His eyes immediately snapped open and panicked. As he tried to rise from his bed, his head, being too close to Kagura's, bumped hers. Kagura wailed in pain and retreated. Rin cried in agony and rubbed the spot where his head hurt.

"Holy shit!" Rin cursed.

"Gah! Rin!"

Rin looked at Kagura. The girl glared at him while trying to soothe her pain. "What the hell are you doing? Don't tell me you're here to…" he covered his chest with his arms. "…molest me?" The boy's stupid assumption earned him a new injury on his head, this time worst than the previous. He cried in pain. Kagura continued to glare at him, with her fists clenched. She gave him an are-you-nuts-look.

"Okay, okay…" Rin said. He yawned. "What are you doing here?"

"To give you a wake-up call. You're late for class." Kagura had her hands on her hips. Her feet tapped the floor.

Rin looked at the bed behind her. That was where Yukio slept. As usual, his brother had left the bed early and it was neat as if no one used it previously. "Where's Yukio?"

"Don't know. He gave me a call this morning, saying he has business and asks me to wake you up."

"Oh." He slumped back to his bed. Kagura was trying hard to refrain herself from killing the boy.

* * *

**Rin**

He was in the classroom 1106 with all his classmates who were also training to become Exorcists. It was late in the afternoon and they were having Anti-Demon Pharmacology. Their teacher, Yukio (unfortunately) was to teach them. But he was late. Usually the guy was punctual, being in the class just at the right time.

Rin snorted. His brother was late. Wait till he gets the chance to nag at him…

He was about to take a nap when the door was pushed open. Sounds of high heels tapping on the ground alerted him. Came in was not Yukio, but a girl who was not much older than anyone in the class. Her charcoal black hair was braided with a bright red ribbon and left on her right shoulder. The emerald-green orbs of hers glinted. She wore the usual black coat which a full-fledged Exorcist would have, only unbuttoned to reveal a maroon-coloured shirt, a pair of jeans and a pair of high-heeled boots. A Knight's Pendant hung freely on her neck. And she looked kinda' familiar…

Rin suddenly choked.

"K-Kagura-chan?!" Shiemi, who was sitting beside Rin, gasped instead of Rin.

Kagura smiled and politely bowed. "Good morning. My name is Kureha Kagura. I will be your substitute teacher today since Yukio-sensei has some matters to deal with. I hope we can get along."

Whispers began between the students, albeit few. A boy with large blonde streak that runs down his natural short and messy dark brown hair snorted. "Seriously… what's gone wrong with this world? Another young sensei?"

Rin thought Kagura was going to explode but she remained calm. She only smiled. _Such great patience is so unlike her._

"Well, I'm an Aria and I'm a Middle First Class Exorcist. I haven't taught anyone yet and I'm not good in pharmacology so maybe we should just have an interactive session. You can ask me any questions and I'll try my best to answer them," Kagura said in a polite manner. She scanned the classroom. There were only 9 students. It would be easy if things don't go haywire. "But first, you guys introduce yourselves to me so that we can know each other better." She pointed at Rin. "You first."

"But you already knew me…" his voice trailed off when Kagura glared at him. He unwillingly stood up. "Okumura Rin."

"Your ideal meister?"

"A Knight…"

Kagura nodded and he sat down. Shiemi eagerly volunteered for the next. "Umm… I'm Moriyama Shiemi…I'm not sure about my meister yet…"

Next was the boy who doubted Kagura. Besides his rebellious-looking hair, he had a small goatee on his chin. He also had multiple piercings in his ears, which combined with his demeanor and hairstyle, making him to appear like a typical delinquent. He wore a beige-colored vest that had a pink 'V' at the neck of it, with a base brown colored tie that had black and white stripes, which he wore underneath the Academy's jacket. "Suguro Ryuji. I want to be an Aria and a Dragoon."

"I'm Miwa Konekomaru," said a boy who had short, stubby hair and pale skin. Two of his defining traits were his red glasses and large ears. "I aim to become an Aria."

A boy with pink hair was next. "Hi. I'm Shima Renzo." He winked at Kagura. "I'm going to an Aria."

A girl with dark red eyes and long dark purple hair which was kept in two ponytails stood up. Her most notable trait was her small, oval shaped eyebrows. She had slight contemptuousness in her eyes. "My name is Kamiki Izumo. I will become a Tamer in the future."

A short-haired brunette beside Izumo stood up next. She had tiny eyes. "My name is Noriko Paku. I have not decided on what I will become."

A boy in a grey jacket with a hoodie covered his face rose. "Yamada." Then he sat down, without saying anything else.

Another boy, with sandy brown hair held a pink puppet on his hand. He didn't speak, but let his puppet did the talking. "Takara."

Kagura sort of sighed. "Okay then… let's get on with the questions you have in mind. Who's first?"

A gale suddenly blew past the class and Shima appeared before Kagura faster than anyone else. Kagura was taken aback and sweat-dropped. "So… Kagura, right? Can I call you Kagura-chan? Or maybe Kagura-tan?" He said flirtatiously. "Anyway, are you single? Because I'm single too! So I'm wondering maybe you and I can just go out on a date?"

"Shima!" Ryuji yelled furiously at his friend embarrassing behaviour. "You're a monk and she's the sensei!"

"Ah clam down, Bon. Ranks don't affect our future relationship." He looked from Ryuji to Kagura. "So… why don't we exchange numbe—" before he could finish, he felt pain in his gut and he coiled inward. His knees collapsed. He stared at the criminal. "You—"

Rin's fist was still held out in the position where he punched Shima in the gut. "Don't hit on Kagura! She's mine—I mean, _my_ best friend!"

Everyone was shocked of the revelation except Shiemi who already knew. Ryuji stood up in surprise and his eyes non-stop looking back and fro on Kagura and Rin. "What?! How many teachers you claimed to know them?"

"That is none of your business!" Rin yelled back.

"Of course it is! You know practically some of them!"

"I only know Kagura and Yukio. I've grew up with them since I was young!"

Izumo laughed at the squawking two. She stared contemptuously at them. "You two are 6 year olds. Can't you see I'm trying to learn here?"

"Shut up, Kamiki!"

"Or else what?" Izumo and Ryuji started a glaring contest.

Rin rolled his eyes. As he decided to return to his seat, Shima suddenly stepped on his foot so hard he jumped and yelped. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

Shima snickered. "That's for punching me!"

Rin glared back at him. "You're hitting on the teacher!"

"So? I bet she's interested too if you haven't punch me! Crap… it still hurts…"

Konekomaru stepped forward and tried to ease the fights before anything gets worse. But neither fight was breaking up. Glares and squabbles continued. The heat within the class peaked phenomenally. The situation was intense. Everyone had forgotten the presence of the black-haired teacher.

Kagura's patience was being tested.

"ENOUGH!" As she yelled, a white glow took over her. Multiple white swords materialized within the air in the class. Each student in the class—except Shiemi and Paku—had swords aimed at them, the sharp tips only inches from their heads. The squabbles instantaneously died down. Everyone whirled their bodies and stared at Kagura with amazement, tinged with some fear and respect.

"S-sensei, c-could you remove the swords from our faces?" Ryuji asked, trying not to quiver.

"Unless you guys stop fighting," Kagura folded her arms over her chest. She angrily glared. The white glow enveloped her ominously.

"W-we will…" Shima raised his hands in the air to surrender. Izumo and Konekomaru nodded unanimously.

Rin gulped. The swords will hurt him since he's part-demon, but… "Umm… Kagura, don't your swords of Light only hurt demons?"

The whole class relaxed after finding out the swords will not have effect on them. "Next time, tell us earlier, pal," Shima said to Rin.

Kagura, however, smirked. "So you're not afraid since these swords can't hurt you, huh?" She stretched her arm outward. The white glow over her intensified. And the most unbelievable thing happened. One by one the white swords transformed into real, sharp steel swords. Light bounced off the blades.

"Well, Rin?"

Everyone glared at the boy, who shied away sheepishly. Shima touched one of the blades and he pricked his finger. Tiny ribbons of scarlet dripped. He gulped and took back his hand.

"Get back to your seats and let's start the session," said Kagura while eying each and every one of them.

"Yes sensei…"

* * *

**Asteri and Happy**

The two cats peeked into the class through the glass on the door.

"Kagura's gotten stronger," Happy whispered.

Asteri nodded. "Apparently, her abilities are sharpened day by day. Now she can summon swords of Light that can harm both humans and demons. I wonder what's next."

"But those people will find her soon…"

Asteri sighed. "Don't worry. She'll be fine as long as she's with us. Aoife gonna make sure about that."

Happy frowned. He looked at Kagura. The cat maybe small, but the girl was his Exorcist. No matter how tough the enemies are going to be, he will stop at nothing to protect her. He was, after all, her Guardian.

Asteri knew what he was thinking. She patted his shoulder as a sign of support. She was also ready to take on the world for the girl, even if it costs her life.

It was the eternal job of Guardians: to protect their Exorcists.

* * *

**Kagura**

Diary.

The word popped up in her head just after the moment she returned to her room, exhausted. She opened the drawer of her study table and took out the mysterious leather-covered diary. She caressed the cover. So soothing, so nice.

She opened the diary after unlocking it and turned to the second page.

_Entry 2_

_She was getting along well with my family. All of them. Joy and happiness found their place on her. However, she didn't seem to remember any of her past. Thank God. At least I don't need to worry of her asking too many of her past. _

_I was glad and excited when she called me her father. It felt so nice, to have three children for me. Thank you, God._

_However, things worsened when _she_ came._

_She was part of the 'other' division of the True Cross Knights. It was the first time for me to meet a Paladin younger than me. Only, she's a Holy Paladin. Skills far different from mine._

_The lady demanded of my daughter. I refused. That's my daughter! No hell way! _

_We nearly battled. But the lady refused to use brutality to solve the problem. She decided then that my daughter will be under my safeguarding. And she will not disturb me as long as my daughter shows no symptoms of becoming one of 'them'. _

_I pray that day will never come. _

Kagura's head was filled with a lot of questions. What Hold Paladin? She had never heard of such ever since she joined the True Cross Knights. Did it even exist? Or this diary was just a hoax? _But the diary looked so old and real. It couldn't be just some simple joke._

She was getting very confused. Enigmatic questions in her head kept bouncing in the inside of her head. So many of them. And yet, there was no one she could get answers from. Rin. No way. Happy. Impossible. Asteri would call her crazy. And Yukio… The only one among them who was the most rational and wisest. But even Yukio wouldn't have answers to her silly questions.

Oh how much she wished father was here.

Defeated, she flipped the third page of the diary, hoping to get more answers.

_Entry 3_

_It was a stormy night. The storm battered the place and leaks were everywhere. Me and the others quickly went to fix the roof. I told the three children to hide in their rooms just so they weren't involved in the storm. Actually, I considered this storm not the worst I've encountered. At least the roof wasn't blown away like last time. And then I took my word back. _

_I heard a scream. The agonized, piercing scream of a little girl. Then I was sober than I was in previous years. My daughter needs me. _

_I ran to the kitchen after grabbing my rifle, ready to create holes in the threat like the holes on a beehive. But I saw her, glowing in white instead. The demon, body skewered by a white spear which seemed to be made out of light, cried. In such pain. It fled by bursting out of the ceiling—curse that demon. _

_My daughter, stared at me. And ran to hug me and cried and cried. I held her so tight and wanted so badly to cry. Not because she was safe and sound. I cried because my daughter was about to be taken from me forever. _

Trembling fingers dropped the book on to the floor in a loud thud. It took long for Kagura to let the story sink in. Inexpressible emotions were registered on her face. Her feet shaking, her body quivered. She wasn't so stupid to not realize the story inside the diary was hers. Her story. Her life.

Her hands raked for the book and she flipped the book till the last of its pages. The signature on that last page confirmed her fears.

It signed, _Fujimoto Shiro. _

The diary was her father's. Her father's. The girl was her. Her.

Now, the biggest mystery was: who was Kureha Kagura?

* * *

**Again, guys, please REVIEW! And thanks for reading! **

**(p.s: bad news… I might not be able to write for 3 months. Reasons will be told later…)**

**(1) Eae: angel who thwarts demons.**

**(2) Iaoth: archangel who has the power to thwart demons.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Kagura**

_Remember: things aren't always it seems._

Father's words resounded in her brain, lingering for quite some time. It was days after finding out the owner of the diary and its contents. Rin wasn't the best man she can share it with, and Yukio was not back from his mission, whatever it was. She spent days as the substitute for Yukio, getting along with the class, creating strong bonds and relationships with them. She enjoyed their company, but the diary had not left his mind for one sec.

The diary was locked up in a drawer, just so curiosity won't force her to flip anymore pages. But after what she read, the revelation, the truth was horrifying. Completely terrifying. Even though father didn't specify whether if she was normal, she knew she wasn't. So, what was she? Who was she?

_Things aren't always it seems._

Yes, maybe. Just maybe the diary was a hoax, a practical joke to confuse and perplex her. There might be some people out there who hated and loathed her, so they made up this lame joke to scare her. However, there wasn't anyone out there who would do so, she recalled. Her barrier of isolation from the outer world was thick under her father's protection. No one can get to her without getting past her father.

_Things aren't always it seems._

So, maybe she wasn't normal. But that doesn't mean she's the bad kind. Like what father said, maybe he exaggerated in his dairy. Yeah. She tried convincing herself of that, but was fruitless. The more she convinced herself she was the good kind of abnormal, the more seeds fear planted in the deep core of her heart. What if she was not the 'good kind of abnormal'? What if… she's the bad kind? So many questions, but no answers.

She clenched her fists. She opened the drawer, took out the diary and put it into a bag pack. Then she put some food and water in it and tied a jacket to her waist. She didn't even bother to take the teleportation keys. Not even trying to leave a note to Happy and Asteri. Didn't thought of telling anyone including Rin and Yukio.

She left the dorm, a place where she would call home, and head out to search for answers. And she was determined to not return until she found some.

* * *

**Rin**

Rin should have known when something was terribly wrong. Idiot, he called himself.

"What about we go for a picnic?" Rin was there when Shiemi suggested that idea. The class became a riot. Shima, Bon and Konekomaru suggested they go to a park nearby or even go to the beach since it was summer. Izumo and Paku also wanted to join in, although Izumo wasn't really interested. And Rin would be held responsible for the food supply, in which he was the cook. When everyone turned to Kagura, pleading and begging and a lot of puppy-eyes caused her hard to reject their offer. They were eager to have Kagura join them, although Yukio was absent.

Kagura let out a faint smile and nodded. There was doubt in her eyes, Rin saw but not the others, tinged with hesitation. At first, it didn't draw much of his attention. But at the picnic, the usual joyful, optimistic Kagura was gone, replaced by one with he never known existed. She was the opposite of all her characteristics. Sad, very down and unable to light up a wide grin.

Then, days after that, she was gone. Literally gone. No note, no message, not even a call. He only realized something was wrong with his best friend when she didn't come down for breakfast and didn't even go to the Exorcism Cram School.

Rin frantically searched for high and low with Happy and Asteri. Even the cats didn't know of her whereabouts. He swore when he get his hands on her, he will strangle her no matter how scary she would be when she was mad.

"Where could she be?" Happy asked as he floated in Kagura's room. "She didn't answer our calls. Could something bad happen to her?"

Rin didn't reply. He just punched numbers on his cell phone and called Yukio to return. But even his little brother didn't pick up the phone. If he was rich, he would throw that phone out of the dorm right now. Too bad he wasn't.

"I WILL KILL HER!" Asteri screeched.

"You think _they_ will find her?" Happy whispered, but Rin heard that.

"Who will find her?" Rin asked. Solemnity etched on his face. "Tell me."

Happy and Asteri glanced at each other. "Idiot, Happy." Asteri glared at the cat, but refused to reply Rin.

"Sorry…"

Rin was getting impatient. "Ooi! I'm talking to you! Who will find her?"

Asteri didn't look at him. "None of your business."

His eyebrows twitched. First Kagura. Now the cat. He wanted to unsheathe his sword and slaughter the cat. After he did so, maybe Kagura wouldn't even notice her absence.

At the moment, the doorknob was turned and the door was opened. Everyone whipped around with joy and anger. "KAGURA!" they yelled in unison.

And the person came in.

* * *

**Yukio **

It took him ages to register what he heard into his mind.

After a visit to the chapel, things were clearing up for him. And there were also some things he wished he'd never know. Kyodo had meticulously explained everything he knew to him. He considered himself satisfied, but he knew it wasn't the entire truth. Father didn't tell Kyodo and the others _everything_.

A few things he knew about Kagura resounded in Yukio's head. One, Kagura was not adopted from an orphanage. She was left on the gates of the chapel, abandoned. Why father lied to him and Rin this was a mystery. Two, a young lady once came in demand of Kagura. And things nearly gone bad when father refused. But somehow, the lady left and Kagura was left to stay with them. Three, Kagura, before she was trained to become an Exorcist, she single-handedly defeated a demon with powers of an Aria. Kyodo stated that he had never seen an Aria conjure power in the kind Kagura did.

Yukio was also given a chance to search for clues in father's stuff. They were packed in boxes and kept in his room, which was free of dust after his death a few months ago. Apparently Kyodo and the others took some time everyday just to clean it up. Yukio found books, clothes, and a lot of things that were not related to his purpose. But he did found a photo. It had all of them in it, all 8 of them. He remembered vaguely the photo was taken not long ago, just before father's death. It was the last photo his family had taken. He stifled himself from crying.

Yukio took the photo and kept it in his pocket. Not satisfied of his findings, he went to ask Kyodo for more. Kyodo shook his head, saying that was all left of the man. Then he remembered something.

"Fujimoto-san used to have a habit of writing a diary," Kyodo said. "Maybe he had something in his diary."

"But there's none," Yukio explained.

Kyodo cupped his chin. "Hmm… on second thought, I didn't saw it when I put away his stuff. Could it be—"

_Stolen?_ It was the only reasonable reason. Father never told him, Rin or Kagura about having a diary. The others of course wouldn't have the indecency of stealing it.

Yukio thanked them for the trouble he caused these few days and returned to the dorm. For his absence, he could make up a simple lie of attending to a mission. But no. Of all the things happened lately, of all the revelations he known a few moments ago, he must confront Rin and Kagura with the truth. Though, he knew, they wouldn't like it, especially Kagura. As he stood before Kagura's door—since Rin wasn't in his room probably he went to hers—he steeled himself and his hand went to turn the doorknob. It was unlocked and he entered after hearing ruckus from the room.

"KAGURA!" The gang welcomed him with joy, sort of. Their eyes widened in surprise when they saw him instead of the girl. "Yukio?!" the three gasped, although more of surprise than joy. Obviously they were not waiting for him.

"Kagura?" Yukio raised his eyebrow. Thus, Rin and Happy took the liberty of explaining the situation to him. Only then he realized a lot had happened when he was gone.

"Since you're back, let's go and search for her." Rin dragged him but he gently pushed away his hand. "What?"

Yukio adjusted his glasses. "There's something I have to tell you."

Asteri snorted. "What's more important than finding that impudent brat?"

He thoroughly explained everything: about his absence, his findings and the truth. Rin was the shocked one, shaking Yukio to juice out more. However, Asteri's face was grim, as if it was something she didn't want anyone else to know. Happy patted her shoulder, not looking surprised or shocked at all. Yukio knew that the two cats were hiding something.

He didn't want to force any info from them by brute, since one of them had the ability and skills to shred him. Gently, he spoke. "You know something, don't you?"

Asteri turned to look at him in the eyes. "No." She was stern, not stuttering, not wavering. But Yukio knew there was more than that.

It was risky, but he did it anyway. He pulled out his gun and pointed at Asteri. "You know more than that. And you know where Kagura is. Where is she?"

"Ooi! Yukio!" Rin grabbed his gun and forced it to point the ground. "What are you doing?!"

"They know something!"

"But you can't just point a gun at them!"

Happy stared at Asteri who refused any eye contact. She remained silent but finally spoke. "We know something. But we don't know where Kagura is."

"What?!" Now Rin glared at the two cats. "What do you know?"

"Confidential."

"Aye…"

"Why you—" Rin wanted to unsheathe his sword now.

"But I'll tell you when we find Kagura." Asteri continued with a serious tone. "Happy, let's go."

"Aye!"

"What about us?" Rin asked.

Asteri sighed. "Stay. And wait for news. We are her guardians. We are to protect her. But don't tell anyone. Not even Mephisto."

"BUT—" Before Rin could stop them, the cats had spread their wings and flew out of the window. He grumbled and cursed.

Yukio zoned out Rin's voice. The boy believed things were going to get more complicated as the passage of time takes its toll.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Pretty please, review? Come on, guys, it only takes a few minutes. PLEASE? **

**Anyway, starting from Jan 3, 2013, I will be gone for almost 3 freaking months. I am forced to join a training program for that long… Please forgive me for any inconvenience. I will miss you guys… T^T I promise I'll continue this story as soon as I get back. **

**Sorry… ~whiteraven95**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Rin**

_Rin, what's wrong? _The voice of the black cat familiar he just taken in, Kuro, who also once belonged to his father, spoke.

Rin sighed. "Nothing. Just missing… Kureha Kagura…"

_Is she your girlfriend?_

He blushed and quickly denied. "N-no! She's just my best friend. Sort of." It was already days since Kagura's disappearance, along with the cats' abnormal behaviour. During these days, Rin grew worried and anxious. He wondered what could have happened to the girl he called best friend. Where was she now? Was she doing well? Nonetheless, at least he got someone to accompany him, to fill the empty space in his heart temporary. He met Ukobach, a demon in Mephisto's service specialized to cook for him, Yukio and Kagura ever since they lived in the dorm. It was not until recently he and Yukio realized the little demon cook's presence. They soon become friends since they both had the same passion for cooking. Later, he met the cat sith, Kuro, whom became his familiar after Rin's display of 'defeating' the cat.

Kuro leaned against Rin and purred. _I think your so-called best friend will be fine._

Rin glared at the cat. "What do you mean by 'so-called'?"

_Nothing… you know your own feelings better than I do._

"Goddamn it. Now a cat knows how I feel than I really do." Kuro purred in agreement.

He sighed. What were his feelings towards Kagura anyway? Just friends? Or… something more than that? He wasn't sure. Always he thought the girl was his best friend but now he doubted himself. Was she more than that? He didn't know. But he hoped he could be certain of the answer when she is back. Which he didn't know when.

After that, he was assigned to a mission with his fellow classmates to a place called Mephy Land, owned by none other than Mephisto. They were to investigate strange happenings in the park that was believed to be caused by a ghost. Yukio had arranged them into teams consisting two. And he was assigned with Shiemi. Both of them remained silent throughout the search.

Shiemi stared at Rin. "Hey, Rin. Do you think Kagura-chan will be fine?"

Rin stared back at her. "Of course she will. She's… tough."

Shiemi played with the end of her hair. "I hope so too. Where do you think she would be? Rin?"

"I don't know!" Rin suddenly yelled, unleashing his anger at her. "I don't care of what that woman is thinking! Can't she see we're all worried of her? She couldn't even bother to give a call! And I am her best friend! What does she think I am? Someone unimportant?!"

Shiemi was taken by surprise by his surge of anger. After realizing what he did, Rin looked down at the ground and tried to calm himself down. "I-I'm sorry, Shiemi. I didn't mean to—"

Shiemi smiled. "It's okay. I know how you feel. She's my friend too. She worries all of us." After the conversation which made Rin sadder than ever, they continued the search, where neither mentioned of Kagura. After a few failed attempts to find the ghost, they decided to take a rest near a roller coaster.

"Rin!"

Rin perked up. Did someone call him? He turned to Shiemi, who was scanning the area. Thinking it was an illusion, he ignored the voice.

"RIN!" the voice was louder now, and much clearer and nearer. It sounded so familiar…

Shiemi gasped and pointed in the air at a blue object that was closing in on them. "Happy!"

"Happy?" Rin didn't get it at first. Then the blue cat appeared before them, covered with sweat and panting. "Happy!"

Happy panted and took in deep breathes of air. He wiped the beads of perspiration from his face. "Thank god I found you…" His voice was feeble with exhaustion.

"What happened? Where's Asteri?" Both Rin and Shiemi were anxious and full of anticipation. They hoped the cat brought good news instead of bad. But they were greatly mistaken.

Happy said the words in a weakened tone but they were clear enough to register in Rin's mind. "Kagura's… in trouble."

* * *

**Kagura**

"You're still here, Kagura-chan?"

The voice made Kagura lift her head from the book. She stared at the old man who was the librarian of the library. Time had made its mark on his body in the form of visible wrinkles. His graying hair was little and he wore a pair of spectacles. They had known each other ever since Kagura visited the library. The old man was very fond of her and treated her like his granddaughter.

The two were now in a disclosed section of the library, where thousands of ancient and priceless books lie in slumber. Some of them dated from the 17th century. Kagura was the first to be here except the librarian since she begged. Of course the man agreed.

The light near her let out shades of orange. "Well, Taroko-san. I am still not satisfied with my findings." Near her were piles of books she read for the past few days and none of them showed promising results. "I hope this book will not be the same." Most of the books were titled _Demons_, _Exorcism_, _Witchcraft of the 17__th__ Century_. But they were not what she expected.

"Maybe I can be of some assistance," Taroko suggested. He took a seat beside her and adjusted his glasses. "So, dear, what are you looking for?"

Kagura hesitated of telling the man everything. But Taroko knew her fears. "It's okay. This old man needs more excitement before he steps into the coffin."

She smiled at the joke he made. Taroko-san was right. She needed help badly and she was desperate, probably. Questions waited for answers rebounded in her skull for countless times, so troubling it was hard for her to sleep at night. Sometimes she would jolt awake too, and the dark circles around her eyes darkened. "Okay Taroko-san." She contemplated on how she will direct her questions at the old man so that he won't be too startled. "What kind of person has the ability of thwarting demons by summoning weapons or power of Light and obtains a white glow over them when they use their powers?" Obviously she was asking about herself.

Taroko had a wide grin spread over his face. The creases on his face deepened. "Angels of course."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Angels? They exist?" And she regretted asking that. Demons, Exorcists, and even talking and flying cats existed. What are the odds of angels not existing?

"In every religions and beliefs, angels exist in all sorts of forms. People believed angels are the messengers, helpers of Gods. And they still do. Angels are the symbol of Light and hope. No one can deny their existence. Some loathed them, like demons."

She remembered when the winged demon tried to kill her when she was little. "So… do you believe in them?"

Taroko smiled. "Well, kind of. I believe in good ones, though." Kagura seemed more perplexed than ever, so he continued. "There are angels that have fallen because they strayed from the path of Light. They are called Fallen Angels, or simply 'Fallens'.

Kagura nodded while her mind tried hard to digest the information. A lot of questions that had not been answered were just answered in simply short sentences. She slowly put the picture in piece by piece like a puzzle and the truth dawned on her. She wasn't normal alright.

She was an angel. And she was positively 100% sure about it. Things just gotten more and more complicated.

Taroko rose from his seat. "I need to go back now to continue my duties. I hope I can help." Kagura thanked him and he retreated out of the room.

Loneliness loomed over the girl. Now she must decide what to do next. Should she tell anyone about her findings? Or keep it to herself? No. She must tell someone about this. Yukio, perhaps. And Rin too, or else the boy will murder her. Happy and Asteri… she don't know what to tell them since she suspected that they knew something before. Mephisto? No way because she disliked him and she had second thoughts about the weird man. Then there's the woman father mentioned: Aoife Barachiel. Whoever she was. Father once said if Mephisto doesn't work, she can find her. But she ddidn't know her. Her name was briefly mentioned when the cats appeared.

As she was still in her world, she heard a scream of agony and pain. She was startled and jumped. _Who screamed? _Her mind ran through all sorts of possibilities. It was late night and she was alone in the library with no other visitors. Except…

"Taroko-san!" Kagura screamed while her legs started a run. As she burst through the doors to the lobby, blood drained from her face. Taroko-san was there, his neck was held by a hand and his body dangled in mid-air. The alien hand belonged to a woman with golden hair and had a wing ornament over her head. She recognized the woman as the one from her nightmare, but she couldn't care much. Taroko-san was at the edge of dying.

"Leave him alone!" Kagura yelled as she braved herself. The familiar white glow immediately enveloped her and multiple swords materialized in the air, their lethal tips pointing at the woman.

The woman barely raised her eyebrow. The muscles of her arm rippled as she twisted the old man's neck with a hand. The old man stopped struggling and breathing. She let the body drop to the ground, a wide cruel and maleficent grin spread across her face. "Oops."

Shocked. Scared. Sad. Angry. Those were the emotions that mingled into a distasteful concoction in her. She grabbed a sword beside her and lunged forward, couldn't care much of how dangerous and lethal the enemy was. Before she could pierce the woman, sounds of metals clashing ringed in her ears, hinting the woman had a sword to defend herself. Pale light in the lobby glared off both the swords, and coloured an orange shade over the women's faces. Kagura gritted her teeth as the enemy only grinned like the attack was nothing. She decided to launch all her swords at the woman but with a kick in her gut, Kagura recoiled inward and lost her grip on her sword. The enemy then launched another attack directly at her head, causing Kagura's face stuck to the ground.

The woman smiled. "Really? Is that the best you can do, Holy Exorcist?"

_Holy Exorcist? What does she mean? _Kagura struggled to stand up, but the woman's foot was planted on her back. She ordered her swords to inch closer at the blonde, attempting to scare her off. But the efforts seemed useless as the woman's sword morphed into a huge silvery boomerang-like weapon that also somehow shaped like a crescent. She let it go and the crescent went flying towards all of Kagura's swords, slicing the swords into halves. The swords, now nothing but useless pieces of metals, dropped to the ground and shattered like fragile glass. The woman took back her crescent and it morphed back into a sword.

More shock flooded the girl. Her swords were useless. Her efforts were futile. She couldn't do anything to defend herself or protect Taroko-san. Imminent death approached her. She closed her eyes and waited for the moment. It was a long and torturing wait for death. She hated it. Still, she wondered why she hasn't felt the searing pain that will soon burn throughout her body. Suddenly, the weight on the back of her body was lifted. Curiously, she reopened her eyes. The woman was now away from her, glaring and hissing angrily. What really surprised her was a huge white feline in armor loomed over her protectively, her mocha brown eyes fixated on the hostility. The ribbon on her tail confirmed her as none other than Asteri, Kagura's familiar.

"Asteri, what are you doing—" Kagura was cut off abruptly by the cat.

"Silence, fool," Asteri reproached, though her eyes never left the woman. The anger in her tone was obvious and heavy. Kagura knew if she survived this one, she wouldn't survive Asteri's wrath.

The blonde raised her eyebrow. "A Warrior Guardian… how interesting." She snapped her fingers and a dangerous hissing filled the air. Kagura watched as a greenish brown python slithered from the shadows and coiled itself around the woman's feet. She caressed the snake's head and it hissed back. Kagura felt ill.

Asteri growled at the snake. The snake hissed back and immediately launched itself at her. Its thick and long body coiled the feline, tightening her like how a python would do to suffocate its prey. Although Asteri was large, it seemed like the snake was able to coil itself throughout her body. The cat growled, her talons raking at the snake's scales but it was useless as the snake's scales were as hard as steel. Luckily Asteri had her armor on and the snake was taking a hard time to strangle her.

Kagura had to do something quick. She summoned swords once more and aimed them at the snake, completely forgetting of another enemy lurking nearby. She only realized that when the blonde's sword nearly beheaded her. Immediately Kagura took two swords in her hands and clashed with the blonde. The blonde's strength was overwhelming since Kagura was weakened before. She tried to summon her strength.

"Kagura!" Asteri yelled. Her sharp teeth caught hold of the snake and bite it as hard as she could. The snake hissed and uncoiled itself from the cat. Taking advantage of that, Asteri's wings appeared and they flapped, sending a strong gale that whipped the snake to wall.

The woman was appalled as her snake hit the wall. She glared at the young girl before her. More strength was exerted on the sword, causing the girl to take a few steps back. Asteri lunged at the woman and at the same time, she grabbed Kagura's arm with her remaining hand and blocked Asteri's attack with her. The two rolled across the ground. As they struggled to stand their ground, the blonde's sword which yet again transformed into the boomerang-like weapon. And it headed towards them, eager to mutilate them.

Only inches away from the two, the weapon stopped. Before the two was a golden shield in the shape of a sun with wings spread out on its side. They were not the only ones who were surprised. The blonde was too.

"You should never do that, Iaoth," said a voice. A man stepped out of the shadows. Under the weak light, his long golden hair glinted and shone like the sun, tied into a low ponytail. Azure blue orbs hinted friendliness and kindness. Clad in white the man smiled at Asteri and Kagura, a smile in which warmth radiated like the sun.

"You…" Asteri muttered. However, Kagura felt as if she knew the man for a very long time.

The man turned back to the blonde, this time glaring at her. "Leave, Iaoth, if you know what's good for you. Your sword against my power, well be evenly matched. But if Aoife arrives…" he laughed. "She will obliterate you."

The woman barely looked afraid. "Like I'm afraid of the likes of her. Let her come. I've grown stronger than you can ever think of."

The man smiled. "Knew you would say that." He didn't turn away from her, yet his voice spoke in within Kagura's and Asteri's minds. _Grab my hand. We're leaving. _

Kagura and Asteri exchanged glances. The cat nodded and reverted to her normal, tinier form. She grabbed Kagura's hand while Kagura hesitated whether if she should grab the man's. _Who is he? _Kagura couldn't contemplate further when the man's voice rang again in her skull. _Quick, before she decides to kill us all._

This time Kagura was puzzled. And she thought the man's power was equal to the enemy. She bet he lied to protect all of them. Without any more delay, the girl grabbed his hand, which was warm. The man glowed in gold and that was when the enemy realized they were escaping. But it was already too late. In a second, the place that used to be the library's lobby transformed. The woman disappeared from their sight in exchange of a new scene. After a blink, Kagura found herself in a dark alley, closed in by two dark and tall buildings. A full moon hung in the air, shedding soothing white light across the place.

_We teleported. _Kagura realized. She let go of the man's hand but held tightly to Asteri's. _This man… he's like me?_

Asteri seemed to have read her thoughts and spoke. "Yes. He is like you. But slightly different. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

The man nodded. He stared at Kagura for quite some time, giving her the goosebumps. She resisted the urge to yell at him as she remembered the man saved her life. _He wasn't really much older than me, though. He looked like he's 20 or something._

"I know you don't remember me," he spoke. "But we've known each other for a very long time. My name is Grisia Sun, the son of the Holy Exorcist of the archangel, Gabriel. Long time no see, Kagura."

_He knew me? And I knew him? But I couldn't remember him at all. Is this a trick? _Her thoughts were interrupted when the man suddenly hugged her so tightshe could suffocate. But she let him continue because somehow, she loved the warmth he radiated. It felt so familiar, so nice. Like an old friend's hug.

He whispered, "I have found you, Kagura. Finally." For once, Kagura swore she heard him crying.

* * *

**This is a long chapter, but I've finish it just for you guys anyway. I'll be leaving from Jan 3 till March 16, and come home for CNY holidays during Feb. I apologize for unable to continue my stories until then. (Sobs… I miss writing stories too…)**

**Thanks for reading guys! Love ya'! And please review! **


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Rin**

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rin asked the blue cat impatiently.

The cat replied. "Last night, Asteri and I found out Kagura was in the library. We wanted to see her then a threat appeared. Asteri told me to leave so that I can bring reinforcements." He looked at the sky. "Damn! It's already morning! I hope they're fine…"

"Why did you take so long to tell me?"

"How should I know you're in Mephy Land?!"

Rin sighed. "Take me there, quick!"

"Not just yet." A new voice spoke. The three whipped around to see someone standing on the rails of the roller coaster nearby. The boy looked freakish. He had green hair with a solitary spike at the centre of his head. Even his eyes were green. Sharp fingernails like claws glinted. A lollipop rolled in his mouth. "Kitty here is going to take me, not you."

Happy shrieked and hid behind Rin. Shiemi took a few steps back while Rin glared venomously. _Who the hell is this bastard?_ Happy's timid and squeaky voice answered him. "Amaimon, the Earth King, a demon king and son of Satan!"

Amaimon took out his lollipop and licked his lips. "That means, I'm your elder brother." He stared at Rin. "It's the first time we meet. Nice meeting you."

"Not nice," Rin retorted angrily as he was eager to rescue Kagura. "Leave us or else."

"No…" Amaimon jumped off the rail and landed on a golden statue of Mephisto. "I want the blue kitty. He knows about the abomination's location and nii-san wants me to find her."

Happy tensed up. Rin kept his eyes on the demon. "What abomination, punk? Who the hell are you talking about?" He glanced at Happy, whose blood had been drained from his face. The boy before him was a potent threat since he was a demon, definitely had powers to obliterate Rin and his friends. Rin instinctively stretched his hand to grab Kurikara on his back, but stopped when he remembered Shiemi's presence. Of course he couldn't reveal his true identity at the girl. "Shiemi, go and find Yukio and get help."

"But, Rin…" Shiemi said.

"GO!"

Shiemi's eyes darted from Rin to Amaimon and back to Rin. She nodded and ran off in search for help.

Finally alone, Rin unsheathed his sword and blue flames enveloped him. Happy floated a few feet behind him, keeping a distance from Amaimon. Rin balled his fists. He need to finish this quick and save Kagura before it was too late.

* * *

**Kagura**

Her eyes fluttered open as dawn broke across the sky. She sat up from her bed and noticed Asteri sleeping soundly beside her. The cat looked so peaceful and calm now, unlike the one last night with claws and teeth sharp enough to shred humans into ribbons. Kagura gently caressed her fur and she purred in contentment.

Last night was like a nightmare. Taroko-san dead. She and Asteri nearly killed. The shadow of the blonde that haunted her nightmares before now loomed her reality, her life. She remembered how incapable of herself, unable to save Taroko-san, nearly failed to protect herself and Asteri. Such a weakling she was when she faced a solitary hostility. And she called herself an Exorcist of Middle First Rank. She didn't deserve the title of an Aria. Not strong enough.

"You're awake," the silky voice entered her world. Grisia sat by the window panel, soaking in the strong sun rays. He was already good-looking at first, and the sun rays only made him more of that. His blue eyes stared at the raven-haired girl. "Took you long enough. You're always like that."

Kagura did recall the man rescuing her and Asteri. "Always?"

He smiled. "Never mind."

"You stayed up all night?" Last night, they rented a room in a nearby hotel when Asteri suggested that the dorm would be unsafe. And here they were.

Grisia nodded. "Just in case Iaoth decides to drop in."

Questions begin to renew in her mind. And she knew who she could direct them to. "What's a Holy Exorcist? Who's Iaoth? Are angels true? And are you one?"

He held his hands in the air to surrender. "Slow down!" He took a deep breath. "A Holy Exorcist is a—"

"Enough," Asteri spoke. She floated in the air. "There are some things you shouldn't know." Her eyes glared at Grisia, who shied away.

That ticked her off. Kagura's blood seethed. She was angry. Of all the questions, all the mysteries, the enigmas. Why was her life like a mystery? She had enough. "That's it!" She yelled. "Why are you guys keeping things from me? First father, now you! I'm sick of my life full of questions. I want answers to who I really am! I want to know my true identity!"

"Kagura—"

"Stop telling me what to do! I deserve to know!" she yelled back, which made the other two more startled. "Goddamn it! If you're not telling me, I'll find it myself!" And she stomped out of the room, ignoring their yelling and calling.

It was a blur for her. She didn't know where she was going. But her feet insisted on walking. And she walked and walked… until she stopped for some air. Her hand found support on the nearby wall. As she grasped for air, her eyes scanned the area she was in. She wasn't near the hotel any longer. In fact, she didn't know where she was. It was a new neighbourhood for her, with strangers, alien streets and weird scents. She strayed very far away. However, Kagura didn't care. She propped herself on a nearby bench, taking large intakes of air to calm herself. Her knees folded before her chest and she wrapped them in her arms. And she began to cry. Didn't even know why. But the warm streams of water flowed down her cheeks endlessly.

She caught a fleck of gold from the edge of her eye. As expected, the handsome blond sat beside her. What unexpected was Grisia took her in his arms and gently caressed her hair. It was soothing, with the combination of the caressing and the warmth like the sun's near her. She bawled, snot non-stop flowing until tears drenched his shirt.

Somehow, she wished Grisia will never leave her side.

* * *

**Rin**

"Damn it!" Rin cursed. Eyes glared daggers at the boy claimed to be Amaimon, the Earth King. For the umpteenth time, Rin failed to land an attack on the man. Instead, Amaimon was able to hit him with nothing but fists as his weapon. Facing such a strong enemy, Rin now knew how weak and puny he was, even with the flames of blue strengthening him. The demon's power was formidable.

Amaimon had Rin pinned down on the ground, landing deadly and powerful punches one after another on Rin's face. Slowly, the boy was battered, scarred, bloodied and disfigured. Still he was powerless to fight back. His sword was far away from him, lying somewhere in the rubble. All the muscles in his body ached and failed to muster enough strength for escape.

Amaimon didn't grin. He continued to punch Rin like he was a dummy. "I don't get why father and brother are so obsessed with you. But I don't care about that now. Under brother's orders, I need to find the abomination, and kill her. Her name is Kureha Kagura, right? The spark that will ignite the flames of war. Must not let that happen."

_Kill… Kagura? His Kagura_?

His blood boiled with anger. The blue flames of his burnt more vigorously as the demon riled him. Raging anger thickened in him. The half-demon was pissed off. He grabbed the demon by his neck and flung him away to a pillar that sustained the roller coaster rails. Eventually, the pillar broke and steel and iron that weighed tons rained on Amaimon. Rin took the chance to stand up, grasp for air and frantically scrounged for his sword. A blue object closed in on him, which was revealed to be Happy carrying Koumaken and the sword was returned to Rin.

"Rin, we have to go!" Happy begged. He tugged on his shirt but Rin didn't budge.

Rin's eyes stared at the rubble of iron and steel which buried the demon, knowing well Amaimon will soon rise. "I need to know why he is after Kagura."

Happy tensed up again. He circled the boy, pleading him to leave. "We got to go! Seriously, Amaimon will slaughter you before he kills Kagura!" Rin ignored him.

As expected, the Earth King rose from the rubble, stretching his limbs. He looked fine, no scratches, no lacerations. Green eyes stared at the blue-flames-coated boy. "You are annoying." As he prepared to launch himself at Rin, this time eager to kill him, he didn't notice a new presence standing not far from them, watching the battle.

"Devour the Seven Princesses, slay the Serpent." The three whipped around to find Yamata, the quiet boy from Rin's class approaching them. Then, he drew out a purple sword from the markings on top of his chest. The sword's tip pointed at Amaimon. "The Earth King, Amaimon. Fancy meeting you here. Who let a big fish like you slip into school perimeter? Mephisto?"

Amaimon raised an eyebrow. "Ah great. Reinforcements."

"More to come if Aoife knows you're here."

Rin perplexed. _Aoife? The woman Kagura mentioned?_

Amaimon spit with distaste. "Oh well, I'll be leaving." His eyes darted to the blue cat hiding behind Rin. "I'll kill Kureha Kagura later." And he ran off in high speed, without bother finishing the fight with Rin.

"Ooi!" Rin wanted to pursue the guy, but Yamata stopped him.

"You won't juice out anything from him," Yamata said while keeping back his sword.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Rin yelled back at the boy. He remembered Yamata, who was the quietest in class, isolating himself from everyone. Rin will not take orders from him.

"You wanna know?" Rin felt Yamata's grin under his hoodie. Meticulously, Yamata removed his shirt to reveal layers of white cloth wrapping his chest. Layer by layer he removed them and the results surprised Rin and Happy. Large boobs donned with a red bra were unveiled. Apparently Yamata wasn't a 'he'. Yamata's dark red hair with yellow ends was tied in a ponytail. Her purple eyes glinted with mischief. "I am sent from the Vatican and am an Upper First Class Exorcist. The name's Kirigakure Shura."

Rin and Happy were still finding hard to believe the truth. Just by the moment, Shiemi leading Yukio arrived at the scene. Both of them were quite stunned seeing the redhead here. Yukio was the most surprised. "Shura?" He gasped, as if he knew her before.

"Oh, Yukio," Shura—not Yamata any longer—raised her eyebrow. "Long time no see, punk."

"Hold it!" Rin yelled, drawing everyone's attention. "Why are you doing here anyway?"

Shura smirked. "I'm here to investigate the dangerous factors lurking in the Japan Branch. That includes you," she pointed Rin. "But my priority is… under Vatican's orders to apprehend Kureha Kagura for the crime of provoking a war between demons and Exorcists."

* * *

**Kagura**

Kagura had stopped crying for quite some time. But she refused to speak. She wanted time to herself. Some tranquility and peace before she steps back into the reality where numerous questions await her. Grisia had been on her side ever since, waiting patiently for her. Sometimes he fiddled with his own hair or maybe bask himself under the sun. But he never let the girl out of his sight. The silence between them was awkward.

It was her voice startled him. "Did we meet a long time ago?"

Grisia stared at her. He nodded. "You probably don't remember. It's probably best for you, considering the tragedy occurred."

"Tell me," she demanded. "No lies. Just the truth. And don't even try to change the subject."

He sighed. "We met ever since you're an infant. I was four that time."

_Four? Before I met father._

"My parents adopted you. They let me grow with you. And when you started to remember, we became very good friends. I acted like the older brother of course, protecting you from bullies who despised you. We were inseparable. You always said the silliest things. When you were 8 and I was 12, you said you wanted to marry me when you get older."

Kagura didn't recall any of that. But she couldn't help blushing. "I… what?"

"Silly, right?" He smiled genuinely. "We all lived in a peaceful village free from war. One day, the village was raided and nearly everyone was killed. I survived, my parents didn't, and you were lost. I lived with the other Holy Exorcists since. Aoife Barachiel, my legal guardian."

_Father mentioned her. Who was she? _She was about to direct that question at him when Asteri entered the picture. Her white wings fluttered behind her, her face showing guilt. She wedged herself between Kagura and Grisia and her head held low. All her pride and glory of being a Warrior cat was lost in that instant.

"I'm sorry I'm being harsh to you. There are some things you should not know," Asteri said. She took in a deep breath to steel herself. "But I decided to tell you now." She glanced at Grisia, who nodded in approval and back to Kagura. "Happy and I weren't sent by Aoife Barachiel. We were bonded to you ever since we were born to this world. We are your Guardians, Kagura. And only angels have Guardians."

Kagura moved away from the two with utter bewilderment. She was right. "So… I'm an angel?"

Asteri nodded. "Angels don't really exist. The name 'angel' is just a title to suit some humans who are completely afflicted with Light and God. It happened a long time ago when God decided to grant those humans the ability to thwart evil, not just demons. That's why you can summon swords of Light. These humans are the mirror images of angels, since angels have the similar power."

"Technically, these humans are just like any other humans, only slightly different," Grisia added.

"Ancient times, demons from Gehenna tried to wreak havoc in Assiah. Angels thwarted them, but they were outnumbered. So they trained normal humans to become Exorcists. Thus the True Cross Knights," Asteri continued. "While angels were given the title, Holy Exorcists. Because war raged on between angels and demons, the heads from both sides decide to create a pact to maintain peace and harmony. From demons came Satan and King Baal, while from angels came Gabriel I and Barachiel I."

"Aoife Barachiel is the fifth of the line while my father, Gabriel IV, was fourth in line," Grisia explained.

"While most angels and humans agreed with the pact, some angels didn't. They believed that demons are evil and always will be. So they went on slaughtering innocent demons. Gabriel I was so mad he banished those angels and ripped them from the title of Holy Exorcists. Those became Fallens, or Demon Slayers. They are still some, though."

"Like Iaoth, the blonde," Kagura said. "But why did she kill Taroko-san? He's human!" She balled her fists.

"That we don't know yet. We know they are brewing something," Grisia replied. "Their head is stirring."

"Head?"

"Abaddon III."

"His name meant destruction."

Kagura didn't like it. She loathed it. Something bad was about to happen. The idea of killing demons was a taboo to her, because she believed the demons are lives too. No use killing them if they weren't evil. She stared at the ground, kicking some pebbles. The information was too much for her to digest. She was an angel. An angel.

Grisia rose from his seat. "Let's go see Aoife. She would love to meet you."

"Not just yet." Kagura rose from hers too. "Rin and Yukio are my priority. They need to know." _Or else they will murder me for sure. _

Asteri agreed. "That silly blue cat worries me too."

"Then let's go back to the dorm first." Kagura missed her two friends, and she knew they missed her too.

* * *

**Another long chapter done. If you guys noticed, I uploaded two chapters at the same time. Just before I'm gone.**

**I would like to emphasize that sometimes I changed the order of the character names. Eg: ****Grisia**** Sun and Kureha ****Kagura****. The underlined are their first names. For Japanese names, I will go with the last name first than the other. For Western names (like ****Aoife**** Barachiel or ****Arthur**** August Angel) I go with first name then last name. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.**

**Hope you enjoy reading and please review~~ Thanks for those who did. Many love~~~ **

**And also... **

**Kagura: Merry Christmas!**

**Rin: And Happy New Year, guys!**

**Yukio: May all your wishes come true this year, 2013!**

**Happy: Aye! Luckily we didn't die on Dec 21...**

**Asteri: That's ridiculous. Never believed in it at all.**

**Kagura: If you guys have any wishes, Rin will fulfill them for you!**

**Rin: What?!**

**Yukio: Can I wish for a more obedient and less mischievous brother?**

**Rin: Four Eyes, you traitor—**

**Happy: I want many fishy!**

**Asteri: I wish for Kagura's safety... and many gifts too.**

**Kagura: Ooh... I want delicious food! Cook for me, Rin!**

**Rin: I am not Santa Claus, and I'm not your servant! **

**Kagura, Asteri, Happy, Yukio: Deal with it.**

**Rin: What the hell?!**

**Grisia: Can I wish for Kagura?**

**Rin: No freaking way, punk!**

**Whiteraven95: you guys are getting out of hand...**

**All: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thank you for all of your support and love! **


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Yukio**

Rin yelled, banging his fists on the door of the room that confined him and Yukio within. Just moments ago, they heard Shura explained of the existence of angels, or known as Holy Exorcists and the next second they were thrown into a room in order to 'help' in the investigation. Apparently, 'help' meant by Shura was defined as 'imprisonment to prevent interference in apprehension of Kagura'.

"Damn it!" Rin yelled and sat on the ground, frustrated. "Why don't they let us out?! Kagura's no criminal! And how come she evoked a war?"

The question rebounded in Yukio's mind, leaving trails of suspicions and mysteries. He completely agreed to the fact that Kagura was an angel. But how could a girl under the thick barrier of protection of his father's, could simply evoke a war just in months of her entering the outside world? There must be explanations, or probably more secrets buried deep within that neither he nor Kagura knows. Something was definitely up. Was it more to Kagura's past? If not, the demons couldn't possibly declare war at the exorcists, both Holy and non-holy just because of some normal, innocent Holy Aria.

He adjusted his glasses. Listing his priorities in his mind. Protect Kagura. Defend her innocence. Dig deeper into the secrets of the angels. Make sure no one gets hurt if the revelation was too shocking. And now, he first must manifest a plan to break him and his brother out.

Yukio turned to Rin, who was cursing and grumbling. He sat on the floor opposing him and stared at the boy. His position was so to his back faced the surveillance cameras. "Nii-san."

"What?!" Rin yelled back, ignoring the fact he was yelling.

"Get mad."

Rin raised his eyebrow. "What?"

A slap. On Rin's face. By Yukio. The red palm mark on Rin's left cheek throbbed. The boy glared at Yukio. Eyes as venomous as snakes. But Yukio wasn't afraid. In fact, he was just starting.

And then another slap. On Rin's other cheek. Yukio remained impassive. Rin became aggressive. He stood bolt upright, threatening to hit his brother. "Why you—"

"That is for causing father's death!" Yukio yelled, feigning anger as best as he could. He mustered enough bravery to continue. "If it weren't for you, father would still be alive! Kagura will still be in the chapel where father can protect her!"

Rin, still oblivious, retorted back. "So you're blaming all this on me?!"

"Isn't it obvious? You did nothing but just cause fights and fights everyday. Nothing you did was even constructive!"

"Are you chiding your older brot—"

"Yes I am! I'm reprimanding you right now! You caused us into this mess! And now Kagura's is going to be imprisoned, if not, killed because of you!"

"That's it, punk! Don't think I don't have the guts to hurt my little brother!"

"Go ahead, nii-san. Without your blue flames and your sword, you are no match for me."

"You don't have your stupid gun either! Even if you shoot me, I'll still regenerate quick enough! More bullets can't hurt me!"

"Why don't we try it out then?"

"Bring it!"

The door to the room slide open, drawing both of their attentions. The redhead, Shura, stepped in with an unbelievable yet mad look on her face. She glanced at Rin then at Yukio. Her hands were on her hips. "Seriously, I'm babysitting you guys and now you are trying to cause me more trouble. Got bored of living?"

Seeing the door opened as an opportunity, Yukio directed Rin to follow him to the exit as fast as possible. But the reply he got was… unexpectedly disappointing.

"Why should I listen to you since you hated me so much?" was Rin's reply. Yukio gave himself a mental slap. After the fight and the whisper of 'get mad', his brother didn't know it was all a hoax. And he thought it was all real. Then, the horrifying truth hit Yukio.

They were never getting out of this place ever again.

Shura laughed, realizing the whole argument was Yukio's plot, which was foiled by Rin's somewhat stupidity. She held her stomach, unable to stop laughing. Tears brimmed at her eyes. Yukio stared helplessly and speechlessly at the woman, bearing in mind that the woman was right. Although the plan was foiled, Yukio couldn't find the mood in laughing. Rin, however perplexed by the two's odd behaviour.

"Why the hell are you laughing?" Rin asked, not in the mood for any jokes.

Yukio slapped his forehead. "Nii-san! I told you to be angry because it will be the only way to get the door open… and I picked a fight with you is part of the plan! While you…"

"So… you slap me not because you hate me?" Rin asked sheepishly while digesting the information. Coining the pieces of puzzles together, the clouds began to clear up. And he paled. Shura's laughter filled the background.

The sounds of high heels stepping the solid ground echoed throughout the place. The three heads whirled towards the door, where a woman meticulously came in. Her white hair rippled as she walked, her coat glittered in silvery dust when light glared. Green eyes scanned the area, darting from Shura to Yukio and onto Rin. A Knight Pendant was pinned to her hair on the right side of her head. A white wing ornament adorned her sandy brown coat. She wore nothing too elegant or inappropriate, only a shirt, a skirt and a pair of high-heeled boots. The woman looked nearly as young as Shura, but emanated some strong and hidden raw power. She smiled at the three, showing them she was no threat.

Shura smiled back. "Yo. Never thought you would make an appearance here. Thought you're busy with… war."

The lady nodded. "Yes I am. But my visit here today is also formal." She glanced at Rin and Yukio, where the latter had the instinct she knew who and what they were. Yet she showed no loathing or disgust. "My name is Aoife Barachiel, the Holy Paladin of the Angels. I see you know about our existence, yes?"

Yukio nodded, while Rin glared. He suddenly yelled. "Where's Kagura?"

Aoife shook her head. "My purpose here is to request your aid in search of her."

Rin snorted. "To help you kill her? No freaking way!"

Aoife stared at Shura instead. "You did not tell them?"

Shura smirked. "These two idiots are… never mind. Didn't get to tell them because of their antics." She earned glares from the two boys.

Aoife spun her head around, as if to check that no one was tailing her. She closed the door behind her and stretched her hand before her. A silver scythe miraculously materialized in thin air, glinting like the moon. It was exquisitely beautiful to be a masterpiece of fine art, the kind placed in museums, not to be used as a deadly weapon. Instinctively, Yukio and Rin stumbled backwards as fear itself rooted in their hearts.

They were going to be killed.

The moment waiting for their imminent death was awful. Both of them were defenseless, one without gun, one without sword. Even if Rin was able to activate his flames, it wouldn't work much against a woman so affiliated with God. The lady approached them, like death itself, add the scythe into the picture, she looked more like Grim Reaper. Yukio glanced at Shura, who was standing aside, grinning as if she was glad they were dead. Did Shura hate them so much to let them die like this? And he thought Shura was father's disciple, the annoying woman whom defeated him every time.

Instead of beheading them, Aoife leaped in the air and her scythe sliced off the surveillance camera above their heads. The gadget clashed onto the ground, turning into pieces of metal junks when Shura stomped on it. The two gaped, unable to say another word. Aoife gestured at Shura, whom immediately pulled out a bundle of keys and inserted one of them into the keyhole on the door. She gave the key a twist and with the sound of a 'click', she opened the door to Rin and Yukio's dorm room. Shura turned to look at the boys, her eyes giving orders of _get in. _Yukio understood it now. He took tentative steps and entered his room, making sure there were no hidden assassins and gestured for his brother to follow.

The door was closed when the other three entered the room. Shura kept her key in her pocket. She pulled out a chair and propped her butt on it. "So, care for some explanations?" Both Rin and Yukio nodded.

A knock came from the door and Aoife opened it without any wary, as if the person behind the door was no lethal threat.

Correction, two cats… and a falcon.

The blue cat immediately circled the room and landed on top of Yukio's head. Happy's face lightened up when he saw the two boys safe and sound. "I thought you guys were goners!"

Kuro found a spot on Rin's shoulder, purring and licking him like there was no tomorrow. _Rin, you're okay! _

"Of course we are…" Rin replied. "Sort of."

The falcon that accompanied the two cats had claws gripped onto Aoife's shoulder. It had a snowy feathery coat and vigilant brown eyes. Aoife caressed its head and it cried happily. "This is Kaori, my Acolyte Guardian."

The falcon spread out a wing and bowed like a real gentleman would. "Greetings, sons of Satan."

Somehow, a talking falcon didn't surprise them at all, considering the fact of angels and Kagura's death warrant were more of surprise to them.

"Let's get down to business." Shura's voice drew all their attention. Aoife nodded.

Yukio registered everything she said into his mind. Yes, there was a warrant for Kagura, on the crime of provoking war between exorcists and demons. The High Council, the one that governed the Holy Exorcists and far more superior than Aoife, ordered for Kagura's capture and Rin and Yukio's imprisonment. Aoife had no choice but to follow. However, she found help from Shura, who was also under the Vatican's orders to do so. Both of them made a pact to protect the three and cooperated to create a plan. Thus, the plan was to pretend capturing Rin and Yukio and then bring them to the dorm, where it would less under surveillance. And now they were here, according to plan. The next step was to find Kagura using Happy's Guardian instincts and protect her from any harm. Yukio, however, refused.

"I demand to know how Kagura provoke a war without her consent," Yukio demanded, at least he believed so.

"Yukio—" Rin's words were halted when Yukio raised his hand to pause him.

"Furthermore, I want to know the real identity of Kureha Kagura. If not, I am able to _persuade_ Happy to not lead us to Kagura and let her die out there instead. I expect you to accept my part of the bargain because it seems Kagura plays a very important role. If you refuse, Kagura dies. Even if she did, I will personally apologize to her and father when I see them in the underworld later."

Rin, Shura and Happy were taken aback by his determination and solemnity. Somehow, Rin had to agree with Yukio, although he didn't like the part where 'if you refuse, Kagura dies'. Aoife smiled, however.

"Very well then," Aoife said. "You, Rin and Shura deserve to know more. Happy, care to help me?"

Happy looked guilty. "Aye." He floated before them. The cat ignored the bewildered looks on Rin and Shura's faces. Yukio knew it alright that the cats did know more.

"A long time ago, the pact between angels and demons were made to keep peace. There were dissent and thus the Demon Slayers were born. The angels and demons begin to hunt the Fallens down. The Fallens knew they couldn't stand attacks from both sides. If they attack demons, they succeed mostly, but their powers don't work on angels. So they devised a plot.

The plot was a horrifying one. It began with experiments, to manifest powers that were able to hurt both angels and demons. Abaddon I, their leader thought of something finally. He decided they would create a hybrid. But it would be impossible to let angels and demons mate. So, they captured countless angels and demons' babies to experiment on. None of them went through the process alive or even was the same person again.

As they were on the verge of giving up, Abaddon II, who was an infamous scientist, heard that the sons of Satan were half-human. He got the idea of using human babies instead. Up to then, history stated that it was humans that were given the powers of angels. Angels are still humans, only different. Fallens got infants from everywhere. And they experimented on them. One of the babies showed promising results. She is Kagura.

The angels had intelligence of the experiments handled by the Fallens. They launched an assault on them, destroying the labs and the scientists and the evidence. The head of the angels, Gabriel IV found Kagura. He wanted to kill her, to prevent any mishaps form happening in the future. But he just couldn't. He believed that Kagura should not be killed, but to raised as one of the angels and to never learn of her true identity. He decided to raise her with his son in the village. Although there were dissents, Gabriel IV insisted that if the child was raised by good, she will incline to good, no matter what she is. Nothing happened during the eight years of raising her.

Then Halphas, a demon came to report that the Fallens know her location and were persistent on getting her back. A fight broke out in the village, and many were killed. Gabriel's wife took his son away, and he took Kagura away. That was when Fujimoto Shiro found her by the gates of the chapel. About how she forgotten of her previous life, it was because Gabriel erased her memories just so she could live on normally without any worries of knowing any of it. And there are rumours that Demon Slayers are starting a massacre to get 99 innocent souls for some purpose to get Kagura. "

It was too much, too much to Yukio. All about the girl, his best friend, her past, her true identity. She was the result of an experiment, a hybrid of human, demon and angel. If Yukio couldn't handle this, how could Kagura?

The door suddenly burst open. The girl was standing there, her face was unable to hide the shock from the revelation. Beside her stood a blond and Asteri. She covered her mouth, as if everything was sickening and she couldn't take it.

"K-Kagura…" Happy muttered.

There were tears in her eyes and she fought to stop them flowing. Her voice was feeble but was clear enough. "I'm…I…"

Yukio wasn't the one sad to see her cry. Rin approached her, stretching out his hand to grab her but she slapped it away. Her fists clenched and her jaw tightened. Without another word, she ran away, faraway from the room, away from the cruel truth.

Rin and Yukio could only watch her run because they could do nothing to erase the horrible truth from the scars of her life.

* * *

**Kagura**

Running. Running. Didn't know the meaning of tired, the girl kept running.

_I am a hybrid, the result of an experiment, a deadly weapon, a human, demon and angel… So that's what abomination means… It means me._

She stopped, finally, leaning herself against a cold wall. Her breathing was rapid, engulfing air like she hadn't breathed for ages. She felt sick, very sick. Her breakfast threatened to make reappearance at the back of her throat. The trembling of her fingers slowly infected her whole body like an epidemic. She wasn't scared. She was disgusted. Her powers were… made to kill. To kill. Demons. Angels.

She stared at her hands, which were clean, but she felt it was covered with blood. Lots and lots of blood of innocents. Of the past, the present and the future. In the past, so many people killed to get her, no matter angels or Fallens, demons or humans. At present, 99 souls are going to be dead, or already dead in the Fallens' hands to get her. Now, she could almost picture the future, where more will be killed because of her.

Kagura gasped at the horror. But the most terrifying was her father's death. He was dead because of her. If it wasn't for her, Satan wouldn't have possessed him. He would still be alive now, by her side, guiding her, helping her. And there was also Taroko-san, the old yet kind librarian, killed because the Demon Slayer Iaoth wanted to collect more lives. Even Grisia's parents were dead to protect her. Whose death is next? She didn't need to think hard to know the answer.

_Rin. And Yukio. _

No matter how much she loathed herself, she must protect them. Even if it cost her life.

Actually, she wasn't sure where she was right now, as she was in a tiny closet with the door ajar. It was dusty and unused for quite some time so she assumed she was still in the dorm, only uncertain which floor she was in. Slowly, she walked back to Rin and Yukio's room, only to be stopped dead in her tracks by someone unexpected. She glared at the man with contempt.

"Ah, Kagura-chan," Mephisto bowed before the girl. "It's been awhile."

Kagura knew this dorm belonged to Mephisto, but she didn't welcome him. Instead she loathed him. It was conspicuous that the demon came here not just to say hello. "It's been awhile too. What brings you here?"

Mephisto smiled, or rather smirked. It was abhorrent. "I'm here to retrieve someone."

_Retrieve? _"What funny word you use."

"Of course. She will not oblige even if I ask nicely to follow me. So let it be 'retrieve'."

Instinctively, Kagura summoned to swords to her hands and parried the attack that came from behind. A pair of clawed hands that belonged to a boy clad in green gripped tight to the blades. Amaimon wore a mask of surprise on his face due to her vigilance and agility, but said nothing about it. As the white glow coated Kagura, her blades glowed in white and as if it was white-hot, the green demon took his hands back and shrieked. Steam spiraled from the hands like he was burnt.

Knowing the two demons had more to give, Kagura summoned more blades to surround her in layers of protective circles, the sword tips aiming at them. They three reached a stalemate, though she decided not to lose today. "Leave."

Mephisto grinned while Amaimon tried to alleviate his pain. "Not yet, Kagura-chan. Not without you."

"You're with the demons?" Kagura asked, knowing there were three forces after her, and one of them was the demons.

"No, no." He wagged his finger. "I'm neutral. But I need you so that my plan can run smoothly."

Amaimon ignored his pain and stared at the girl. "Why don't we just kill her, brother?" Mephisto shot him a look that made him flinch. Kagura immediately ordered the swords to inch closer on them.

Mephisto removed his hat and tapped it with his staff. He spoke something incoherent and green smoke billowed from it. As the sweet scent gushed into her noses, she felt sick. She covered her nose and mouth, but she had inhaled some and it was slowly alluring her to sleep. Her legs were getting feeble by the minute and she had to support herself with her swords. The smoke was some sort of an opiate. And its effects were taking toll on her.

She felt her powers drained from her body. She was losing the strength to stand or defend. It was getting obvious when all her swords disappeared in silver dust and blown away by the wind. Instantaneously, she felt someone grip on her hands and forced her to kneel. She tried to glare at the green demon, or even intimidate him with her white aura but nothing came up. Her eyelids were heavy and threatened to cut the world away from her.

The last thing she saw before her blackout was a flicker of blue at the end of the corridor.

* * *

**The end of another chapter, and probably the last before my enrolment into the stupid camp.**

**Like it? Love it? Review to tell me how you feel. Please and thank you! Thanks for reading. Lots of love for my readers~~**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Rin **

Cobalt blue eyes snapped open when light pierced through his eyelids like daggers. Rin rubbed his eyes as he rose from his bed, yawning and stretching his limbs.

_Rin, you're awake! _The two-tailed black cat demon leapt onto his lap, purred.

Rin caressed his familiar and his eyes found his brother and his friends standing by his bed, worries masked their faces. "What's going on?"

The blue cat floated before him with his wings. "We found you lying on the floor in the corridor."

_Did I fainted? _He stared at his companions. Yukio, Shura, Happy, Asteri, Aoife, the blond guy whose name he didn't know…

"KAGURA!" It occurred to him that his best friend was not around. "Where is she?!"

Asteri had her arms folded across her chest. Angrily, she spat, "the ungrateful brat is gone." She handed Rin a letter, which had words he recognized as Kagura's handwriting.

_Dear Rin,_

_As soon as I found out my true identity, guilt swallowed me. I am in war with my own conscience. I cannot let anyone get hurt because of me. I will be going away for awhile until I have cleared my mind and until things have calmed down. Please do not look for me. _

_Sincerely, _

_Kagura. _

Rin thought he would be pissed. But he wasn't. It was bizarre that he wasn't mad at all. _Why? _

"Don't worry, nii-san," Yukio said. "We'll find her."

But Rin was too indulged in his thoughts to listen. Did Kagura just leave like that? Forever? To make sure no one gets hurt because of her?

_No. That's not it. _A part of his subconscious whispered. _Something was wrong here. But what? _He doubted the validity of the letter, but it was Kagura's handwriting. He'd never forget her handwriting. Then why was he upset? Was there something going on that he knew but forgotten?

Before he could voice out his thoughts, Yukio and the others had left him to rest. The only one remaining was the blond who claimed to be Kagura's childhood friend.

Cobalt blue eyes met sky blue eyes.

The blond broke the silence first. "My name is Grisia."

"Rin."

Another silence.

"Do you believe Kagura will leave just like that?" Rin asked, although he didn't really trust the man before him.

"No, I don't." His reply was cold.

"Then why didn't you tell the others?"

"Because I have no proof she was kidnapped."

Rin choked at his spit. "K-kidnapped?"

Grisia sighed. "When Kagura ran outside, you followed. After awhile, Aoife sensed the presence of your blue flames, assuming both of you were in danger. We searched for you, and found you lying on the ground unconscious with Kagura's letter in your hand."

_That's it? I fainted? Did Kagura knock me out?_

"I believe you." The words came out of his mouth before Rin knew it. It was as if his mind automatically recognized Grisia's assumption as a real fact.

Grisia smiled. "That's what I expect from someone who cares for Kagura so much."

His words had hidden meanings to it that Rin had a hard time to fathom. The half-demon watched as the blond exited his room. The guy's last words lingered in the room, resonated in his mind.

"_Only love can help you find her. Trust your instincts, Rin, or you'll never see her again."_

**Happy**

"You think I'm not worried of her too?" the white she-cat chided the blue cat, after he laid out his plans to her.

Happy circled the room that belonged to the black-haired girl he protected. "But Asteri, I know the letter is a hoax! I know it!"

Asteri folded her arms across her chest. "You have no proof to that. Humans won't believe us!"

"But we're her guardians!"

"I know that very well!" Asteri silenced the blue cat. Happy's head drooped across his tiny torso.

Earlier, Happy decided to fly off on his own in search of Kagura. However, Asteri found out. She was mad of his recklessness, but she couldn't blame him. Every guardian had the instinct to protect their angels, even if it cost their lives. The letter they previously found made the two cats doubt its validity because they can sense Kagura's confusion, fear and anger. If Kagura had left them the letter, why should she be afraid and angry?

The most convincing thing about their instinct was, the cats can sense she was in grave danger.

The blue body trembled. Not because of anger. But fear.

"I don't care what those larger, self-centered beings think!" Happy yelled.

He was afraid.

"I am going to look for my angel!"

Fear that he might lose Kagura forever.

"Even if it kills me!"

With the spread of his white wings, Happy flew out of the window, leaving Asteri alone in the horrible room, where she felt loneliness eroding her from within.

**Rin**

Rin decided his life must still go by while he waited news from the blond. Thus, there he was now, in a forest with his classmates under Yukio and Shura's guidance in order to pass a test to prove their abilities to enter fieldwork. His mind was still thinking of Kagura when Yukio was explaining the test to them.

"I need everyone to retrieve the lanterns hidden in all parts of the forest after lighting them up. Their locations are within a 500 meter radius with this spot as its centre. During these three days, those who successfully retrieve the lanterns without their fire burnt out and return here safely shall earn themselves the qualifications of joining fieldwork. But there are only three lanterns," Yukio gestured three with his fingers. "That means only three of you will pass." And he showed the students the contents of the bag packs, which unlikely sparked up Rin's interest.

The boy's mind had already drifted faraway. _Where is she now? How is she? Is she safe? Will I get to see her again? _

But he will soon realize, getting her back, has a price.

**Yes I am back folks! And I am back in business! Sorry for keeping you guys waiting. **

**This is a short chapter though, but the next will be longer. **

**Hope you guys like it!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Asteri**

Asteri knew something was wrong when she smelt that scent lingering in the forest where Rin and his classmates were taking a test in.

The whole forest was roaming with demons. Weak, dark-liking demons that scurried in the forest especially after nightfall. Their scent tainted the forest, disgusting Asteri. But their scent wasn't what worried her. Her sharp nose smelt something far stronger than those demons. Her gut instinct was telling her something or someone completely out of her league was in _that _forest, wandering, waiting.

_And definitely up to no good. _

Brown eyes gave a cursory glance at Shura, the Upper Class Exorcist, who apparently was drunk. _Useless. _Yukio had gone off to retrieve the one who ignited the emergency firework. _Great. _

Asteri took her Warrior form. Paws with razor sharp talons scratched the ground. Her nose sniffed. _Disgusting demon. Who or what is it? _

It had been awhile. Without Kagura by her side, the cat had lost her morale. Happy would have cheered her up. But he was gone too. Now she would laze around, like a normal house cat would do. But she wasn't one. Her claws itched to tear apart her foes. Her teeth desired to break their bones. Her heart yearned for Kagura, Happy.

The scent of the strong demon upped her. Probably because it was her job to relinquish evil demons. Or was it because she wanted to protect… Rin?

_What is the goddamn demon doing here anyway? _

She departed, trailing the demon's scent deeper into the forest, ignoring Shura's drunken calls from behind. Her legs exerted more energy as she sprinted, jumping over logs and avoiding trees. The scent brought her closer to her target. She could smell the demon's loathing scent better. _A few more meters and I'll catch you. Behind the bushes!_

But something stopped her from going through the bushes.

"RIN!"

_What? _

Asteri popped her head through the bushes beside her. There were Rin, Shiemi, Ryuji, Shima and Konekomaru. Accompanying them was a large moth demon, with its tendrils grabbing onto Rin in the air. Near them was a broken bridge, adorned with countless seals. The cat sighed. _They broke the seals? Idiots. And I have to save their butts. _

She decided to put the demon's scent in the back of her mind and spread out her wings. With a flap of them she slashed across the air in high speed and landed her talons on the moth's right wing. Her jaws took a huge bite out of the moth and it screeched. Another attack with her claws on its body. It let go of Rin and focused on grabbing Asteri instead. However the Warrior was faster. One slash on the moth's body with her claws caused green icky juice ooze and the moth fell.

"Asteri?!" Rin gaped.

"Get going!" Asteri barked back. He flinched and began running, pulling a cart with him. His friends too began to run. Asteri too flapped her wings and followed them, not before blinding the moth with a release of Holy Light from her body.

They stopped at a spot they thought safe. Asteri remained flying in the air. She stared down at the training Exorcists. She didn't even bother to reprimand them as she continued her previous job.

And she jolted in surprise.

_The demon is—_

"Run!" Asteri yelled.

"What?" Rin and the others stared at her with disbelief.

The cat immediately flapped her white wings, sending out gushes of wind that sent them tumbling backwards. Before her senses could alert her, she caught a glimpse of a shadow from the edge of her eye and received a strong kick in her gut. Without even realizing what was happening, a punch came to her face. She crash-landed the ground, creating a huge crater in the process. Spitting blood, the cat growled at her attacker. She spat with disgust at the green-clad demon with his yellow pet.

"Amaimon."

* * *

**Rin**

"A-Amaimon?" Rin stared at the Earth King. Of course he would never forget the green face. The same face that defeated him. The same face that—

_I can't remember where I seen him before?_

"Amaimon?" Ryuji stuttered behind him. "The Earth King?"

Amaimon scratched his head. "I don't need you guys around. I only need—" he pointed at Rin. "You." He let go the leash on his yellow pet, which was already drooling at them. "Get them, Behemoth." Behemoth lunged at the others, only to meet Asteri's sharp talons in its face. The demon writhed in pain, running around as if fire burnt it.

Asteri's claws were glowing in white holy light. She limped towards Rin, covering him protectively. "What do you want, demon?"

Amaimon searched his pocket and fished out a red ribbon. "I believe this is your answer?"

Rin could never comprehend why Asteri immediately lunged at the demon without hesitation. She was swift, but the demon was faster. Another kick in the face, a punch in the gut. The cat fell to the ground like a fallen angel. But she continued to battle him. Injuries scarred her body. Blood stained her snowy white coat. Finally, Amaimon grabbed her tail and flung her to the ground. That did it. She laid motionlessly, her breathing getting weaker by the minute. She converted back to her tinier state, in which all her energy robbed. Shiemi rushed to her medical attention, trying her best to bring Asteri back from the gates of Death.

Asteri's murmurs were tiny, like whispers. But they kept resonating in Rin's mind.

"Ri…. Ribbon…. Ribbon…"

The red ribbon Amaimon held in his hand swayed in the breeze. Rin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He remembered its owner, a black-haired girl he missed most. Didn't have time to think or wait. He unsheathed his sword and let the blue flames coat him. He didn't care if his friends knew what or who he was with the blue flames. Within a flash the half-demon landed a punch in Amaimon's face. His voice was hoarse from the reality, the horrifying truth that he finally remembered.

"WHERE IS KAGURA?!"

Rin finally remembered. Everything. That day he chased after Kagura when she ran after knowing about her true identity. He found her soon enough, unconscious in Mephisto's clutches. He was pissed. He lunged at Mephisto to get her back, but Amaimon knocked him down. The attack probably caused him brain concussion and he forgotten about Kagura being kidnapped. No wonder he doubted the letter.

Amaimon only smirked, as if he was enjoying being beaten. "Not telling you." He stopped Rin's fist in mid-punch and gave him a punch of his own. Another punch in Rin's gut sent the boy flying towards the ground beside Asteri.

The green-clad demon tapped his chin lightly. "Nii-san said to put up a good show. So be it." And he lurched at Rin, with his sharp nails extended.

* * *

**Kagura**

Jade-green eyes glared at the purple-clad demon. Kagura wanted to slit Mephisto's throat if she wasn't tied up.

"What do you want, bastard?" Kagura said, trying to calm the flames burnt within her.

"You know," Mephisto replied calmly. "Angels, Demons, Exorcists and Demon Slayers are all after you. Your price has risen tremendously."

Kagura raised her eyebrow.

"If I am to trade you to one of them and gain immunity from the upcoming war, wouldn't it be pleasant, eh, Kagura-chan?"

"What war?"

"A good show between humans and demons. Don't you think it would be nice?"

Kagura glared hard at the man. "Lost your mind? A war is nice?"

"Of course!" Mephisto clapped his hands. "If I give you to the Angels, they will surely protect me. And thus so with the Demons and the Demon Slayers. A wonderful plan, don't you think?"

"You want immunity, that's it?" Kagura hated the fact that she was being used as a tool to ensure the demon's safety. What was she now? A bargaining tool? A spark to ignite the flames of war?

She had been held here for a week. Although it wasn't much of a torture, but she was held against her will. Somehow Mephisto managed to create a letter with her own handwriting to fool her friends that she was safe. Damn the demon.

"But…" Mephisto continued with a smirk. "Trades are often unreliable. The only thing to ensure eternal immunity is …" Mephisto stepped closer to her. His presence was so annoying she wanted to eradicate him for good. "… holy matrimony between both of us."

_What the hell?! _"No. Freaking. Way." She said the words slowly, like a defense to her own will.

"I expected that," Mephisto said. He snapped his fingers and the scene surrounding them changed. A dark sky blanketed them, adorned with a silvery moon and glittery stars. Trees of different shapes and sizes took over the place. Kagura found herself floating above them, trapped in a translucent bubble. Mephisto sat on a floating sofa beside her. His teapot poured tea in a cup magically and they too floated in mid-air.

"Where are we?" Kagura demanded, obviously fed up and furious.

Mephisto didn't have to reply her. Not far away, something blue lit up the dark sky. At first. Kagura thought it was fireworks. But she knew that tint of blue all too well it imprinted in her mind. Tongues of blue flames licked the sky, burning the trees with rage. Tiny figures hovered in the air above the blue flames.

An enraged Rin was battling Amaimon in a game of wits and strength. Rin was gaining the upper hand sometimes, but Amaimon seemed to turn the tables every time. As if the demon knew his weakness. As if the demon was holding something precious to him, so precious he couldn't dare to hurt Amaimon in fear he would lost it.

_I'm his weakness._

"Rin!" She shouted, and then she regretted it. Rin divert his attention for just a moment and Amaimon landed an attack so hard the boy sent flying, breaking a few trees in the process. _Crap. I gotta help him! _

"Leave him alone, Mephisto!" Kagura demanded.

Mephisto chuckled and sipped his tea. "That means you are ready for a trade? You for my little brother."

_Damn you! _

Rin rose from the rubble, his flames burning with more rage than ever. He turned his head around, scanning for something. Kagura knew he heard her. "Kagura? Is that you?"

"Remember that I'm playing with you! Not her!" Amaimon popped out of nowhere, his appearance as unpredictable as the earth below Rin. The earth suddenly rumbled and exploded with Rin within its range. An ominous glow enveloped the whole place and red flames burst into life. But they were soon replaced by blue ones.

"Where is she?!" Rin emerged from the flames, grabbed Amaimon by his neck and pinned the demon onto a tree. The demon replied by pointing at the floating bubble in the air. Rin turned around.

Blue eyes met green ones.

His attention diverted. Amaimon took the chance to turn the tables around by pinning the boy onto the ground. He landed countless punches on him and he had a hard time to retaliate.

Kagura knew Rin was strong. Stronger than the Earth King. But she made him weak. She was his weakness. Her heart ached as she watched the boy suffered for her.

Her eyes brimmed with tears. She glanced at Mephisto. How much she hated him. How much she wanted to slaughter him.

Mephisto sneered. "Well? You can't help anyone. You are stuck here. This bubble confines your power. You can't protect Rin except to accept my offer."

Kagura clenched her fists.

"DON'T DO IT, KAGURA!" A globe of blue crashed onto the bubble, leaving tiny cracks on its polished surface. Happy The blue cat with wings pleaded. "Don't listen to him, Kagura! Your strength comes from your heart, your feelings for your loved ones! Trust me! This stinking bubble will not hold you back if you desire to protect them!"

Mephisto grabbed the cat by his tail. "You are an annoying Guardian, aren't you?"

Happy gulped, but he didn't care if his life was in danger. His focus was on his angel. "Kagura, rely on your feelings! Don't—" he was abruptly cut off when the demon flung him towards the ground.

"HAPPY!" Kagura stared in horror at where he laid. He was motionless. What surprised and angered her more was the other white cat beside him. Asteri, cradled in Shiemi's hands, was under emergency treatment with Shiemi's demon's help. Near them some of her friends covered them protectively. Kagura knew them all: Ryuji, Konekomaru, Shima. Etched on their faces was fear. And determination. Determination to protect their friends. She could practically hear them yelling from within her bubble.

"Shiemi, get the cats out of here!" Ryuji yelled. "Shima, go with him and inform sensei!"

"What are you going to do?" Shima asked back. Konekomaru was chanting a protective shield over them to cover from the flames.

"I am going to help that bastard out!"

"No! The green one will kill you!"

"Ain't caring! Rin that bastard… I owe him one!"

Anger. Determination. Those feelings mixed within Kagura.

_Your strength comes from your heart, your feelings for your loved ones!_

The familiar white glow took her over. Mephisto looked surprised and shocked. The bubble holding her began to crack under the intense pressure she emanated. Anything or anyone would tremble under fear of girl's ominous aura. It was as if a dormant volcano finally ready to explode all its rage upon its victims after a long sleep.

Green eyes glared at the purple-clad demon beside her. Kagura's face was an impassive mask. "Like I said, leave them alone." This time, she wasn't waiting for a reply.

* * *

**Finally a longer chapter this time. Thanks for reading and please review! Smile! **


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Kagura**

Kagura managed to summon two swords to her aid, each in both of her hands. She forced the white aura to spread from her body to the swords in order to augment their strength. With a few slashes at the bubble's crack, the bubble finally burst into a myriad of tiny pieces that disintegrated in the air. Even though she had an angel's blood in her, she had no wings to support her when she began to fall to the ground. Of course, Mephisto wouldn't be helpful.

Her heavy body crashed through the thick canopy of trees below her. Countless branches splintered during her fall and her limbs were scarred and were dripping with blood. The impact with the hard-packed earth of the ground knocked the wind out of her. She coughed and took in air into her lungs greedily.

By now, Rin must have noticed her fall because the cacophony of explosions and battle cries ebbed. Blue flames did not scar the night sky any longer. He should be looking for her now, desperately and eagerly. Obviously, Amaimon would also be on his tail. She had to reunite with him quick.

Using her blades to support her wobbly legs that were still weak from the fall, she slowly stood. She stared at the vast and gloomy forest surrounding her. _How am I going to look for him?_

"Rin!" She could only yell his name. Her voice could draw unexpected visitors like demons or even the enemy, but she had no choice. Running around the forest would do to no avail. She shouted Rin's name a bit louder this time. Her voice echoed and bounced between the trees like an ominous howl.

Somewhere near her leaves rustled. Branches cracked noisily. She tightened her grip on her swords and held them in a defensive position. The noise became louder as it came closer. Kagura could make out heavy breathing and hasty footsteps.

A disfigured-looking person burst through the shadow of the trees and stumbled upon Kagura. The girl fell to the earth along with the unknown person on top of her. It was hard to recognize the boy with his disheveled hair, demonic face and elfish ears but Kagura knew those cobalt blue eyes anywhere.

"Rin!" Her arms closed around Rin's neck and ignored the fact he was lying on top of her. "Oh thank god you're alright!"

It seemed to take a long time to register into Rin's mind that the girl was Kagura. "Kagura?" As if she electrocuted her, he immediately jumped and lifted himself from her. He helped her up and without any warning the girl hugged him, taking him by surprise. After awhile a pair of arms coiled Kagura's back and hugged her back.

It felt like forever as they hugged each other like that in the middle of the forest, unwary of the dangers that lurked within the ominous trees. Neither of them remembered they were in a middle of a battle against demons that could take their lives in a blow.

Kagura felt warmth emanated from the boy's bloodied torso. It was intoxicating. She forgot how nice he felt. She could hear his chest rumbled as he spoke. "You worried me to hell!" He suddenly released his grip on her and slapped her head like a mother chiding her child.

"Ouch!" Kagura rubbed her head. "What was that for?"

"Running away like that and get kidnapped in the end!" Rin yelled. "Do you know how worried I am? I'm your best friend, goddamn it! And you didn't bother to tell me anything! You just stuff everything into that heart of yours and keep everything to yourself!" He kicked the dirt beneath his feet and spat profanities.

Kagura smiled even though he yelled at her. _So Rin worried so much for me… _"Sorry, Rin."

"SORRY?!" Rin's bad temper got the hold of him. He grabbed Kagura and shook her violently. "Sorry won't do! I was so freaking scared that I would lose you! I can't stop thinking of whether if you're fine or hurt or… dead! I can't get you out of my mind because I like you!"

Kagura slowly digested the words that spilled from his mouth due to anger. The last three words brought the largest impact. They rebounded in her mind until they left a greet impression in the core of her brain.

"Eh?" She silently muttered. There was only silence between them as they stared at each other for minutes. Rin's face slowly turned as red as tomato as if all the blood in his body flowed to his cheeks. Kagura just remained speechless.

Rin suddenly panicked. "Ah! I… I mean… I like you as a…. as a… friend! Y-yes! T-that's what it m-means!" He laughed in order to cover his embarrassing mistake.

Kagura didn't know why she felt disappointment but she left it in the past. "Oh. Sorry that I made you so worried." She scanned the area with her sharp eyes. "I think we should leave the reunion party for later. Let's find the others."

"R-right."

"Didn't Amaimon follow you?"

Rin acted like he finally remembered the enemy's existence. "Yeah… I don't know. I'm not sure."

"It's not possible that they retreated like that…"

"What did Mephisto want with you anyway?"

Recalling Mephisto's preposterous demand, an angry vein popped up on her forehead. "He… he want an immunity from the upcoming war or something… so he wants to marry me…"

"HE WHAT?!" Rin gone panicky. "You didn't say yes, right?!"

"Of course not. I rather suicide."

Rin sighed in relief.

They began wandering in the forest in order to find their friends. After some time, the made their way out of the forest into the opening, where Kagura could smell the sharp irony smell of blood. On the ground were pools of blood, already drying up. Not far from them, she spotted a few familiar figures resting on the ground. As she ran to greet her friends, her eye caught a shadow swiftly stepped in her way and something huge and glinting grazing the fragile skin of her neck.

The man had long blond hair but he was not Grisia. He looked older and stern with a pair of purple orbs, completely clad in white. Kagura's eyes looked down at the sword that held her life at stake. It didn't have a blade that narrowed into a pointy tip, instead the blade was rectangular-shaped but definitely sharp. Kagura could have retaliate by using her swords but she knew the blond wouldn't be defeated like that.

"Kagura!" Rin pulled out his blade in attempt to rescue her. However, the man disappeared as if he teleported and appeared in front of Rin. With a strike, the man made Rin collapse to the ground unconscious. As Kagura charged forward with her swords the man had Rin's neck right under the mercy of his sword.

"Put the swords down, child," the man said cautiously, eyes watching her every move. Kagura reluctantly throw her swords to the ground and they disappeared.

"Nii-san!" From afar Yukio's voice rang. He and Shura, the girl Kagura recognized as Shiro's apprentice approached them. Behind them, Rin's classmates silently watched.

Shura cursed. "You came."

The man sneered. "Greetings everyone. My name is Arthur Auguste Angel, Vatican's Upper First Level Exorcist."

"And the newly appointed Paladin." Shura added.

_Paladin? _Kagura stared at the man. She noticed a few Exorcists had appeared from nowhere and had them surrounded. But somehow she knew they were not here for a party.

Angel's eyes were still at Kagura when he spoke. "Shura, I thought your mission here is to investigate the conspiracy between Mephisto, Fujimoto Shiro and Kureha Kagura. And… also to eliminate anyone or anything related with Satan."

"I changed my objective a long time ago." Right after saying those words, Shura charged forward with her sword in attempt to slash Angel. Like before, the man disappeared in a flash and reappeared behind Kagura, with the sword on her neck. Shura spat onto the ground.

"Let her go!" Yukio yelled as he approached the unconscious Rin with a gun aimed at Angel's head. Kagura didn't dare to move considering the fact how swift the man was.

Angel smirked. "I guess I shall eliminate the 'spark that will ignite the flames of war' right here and then take the Satan's son into custody." Suddenly, he visibly stiffened. Kagura could feel the man's heartbeat increased rapidly as if something was threatening his life. But immediately the man calmed his heart down. He slight spun his head around to greet some newcomers whom Kagura finally realized their presence. A white-haired woman stood and stared at Angel, her eyes hinting of cold and danger. Beside her was a man with golden long hair and hung a warm smile on his face.

"Ah…" Angel said. "What a coincidence, Aoife, the Holy Paladin of the Holy Court. What brings you here?"

Aoife didn't bother to smile. Her eyes glanced at Kagura, then at Rin. "The Holy Court has its right on the girl. You cannot kill her. Even the Grigori has no rights to kill or contain her. Release her now."

Angel smirked. "Fine then." He released the girl and pushed her to Aoife, where Grisia caught her. "Then I shall take Satan's son."

Kagura was furious. "Leave him be!" She yelled even though she knew the man wouldn't listen to her. Her pleading eyes turn to Aoife, who was watching Yukio defending Rin to no avail. "Aoife Barachiel, right?" She asked the elegant lady. "You are a Holy Paladin. Don't let them take Rin away!"

Aoife stared at her. "I'm sorry. But my rank cannot interfere with the True Cross Order's business. Besides, the Holy Court's mission is to retrieve you. Satan's son is out of the question." She grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her along with her but Kagura violently pushed her hand away. It hurt her wrist, leaving a red mark but she didn't care.

"I don't care about some stinking court. Rin's my friend and I'm not leaving him!" Kagura ran to where Rin was. A few Exorcists were already taking him away under Angel's orders. She begged Shura to take her along and Shura couldn't refuse the determination in her eyes and let her go with them.

She found Yukio standing helplessly as he watched his brother being taken away. "Yukio, I'll take care of him. I will not let anyone hurt him."

Yukio nodded. "I'll look after the cats."

"I'll help too." A silky voice intervened. Grisia approached them without their notice. "I can heal them."

Kagura nodded. Though reluctant she was to leave her beloved familiars, she can't leave Rin in the hands of some judgment that may very well cost him his life. She immediately followed Shura when she called and hoped nothing else would get in her way.

Somehow, she knew that wasn't true.


End file.
